I noticed this one today on my Candle Bush (Senna). This is the first year growing this. I read on this site it hosts Sulfur cats, but this does not look like one of those.
Cat ID needed
Cloudless Sulphur. Congrats! Here's one of mine:
Melanie
The pic I saw elsewhere looked nothing like that. Glad that's what it is...thanks!
There are two forms of the Cloudless Sulphur. One is more yellow and really does look different. I think some of the variation depends on what plant and what part of the plant they are eating. I've raised a few to butterfly adulthood so I know they're the Cloudless. I wonder how common the two variations are because it does seem like most of the books show the other yellow kind. Maybe it's a Florida thing?
Melanie
Mel,
You're right. It depends on what they eat. If they eat the flowers then the cat is yellow. If they're eating the leaves the cat stays green. Really wild.
Gardenpom, congratulations on your sulphurs. I checked my two cassias and I had almost a dozen sulphur cats on them.
Terrie
I read they make a safe place to sleep in a curled up leaf, but this one is just laying on top of a leaf, so I'm surprised a bird hasn't gotten him yet.
Went back outside and did not see him right away, but found him safe on a new leaf.
I found two others also, here is one.
1st cat again.
OK, last time out the oldest cat was gone. I looked everywhere near the plant he was on. Was he old enough to enclose, or was he a victim of a hungry bird?
He was old enough, but he would have gone into his sling first before making a chrysalis. You would have seen him hanging in a J type position. Sometimes they are really hard to find so let's hope you just missed him somehow.
Melanie
Would he stay on that plant or possibly move somewhere nearby?
They usually stay on their plant but can wander to a nearby spot.