Boisduval's Yellow

Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 inches (3.8 - 5.1 cm).

Identification: Upperside lemon yellow with black borders; each hindwing slightly pointed. Male forewing with weak "dog's head" pattern; hindwing with wide black border projecting into yellow ground. Female forewing with black at apex; hindwing with narrow black edge.

Life history: Males patrol flats and gullies for females.

Flight: April-November in south Texas and northward, throughout the year in tropics.

Caterpillar hosts: Cassias (Cassia species) in the pea family (Fabaceae).

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Subtropical forests and forest edges, scrub, roadsides, pastures.

Range: Costa Rica north to Mexico. Rare in south Florida (recor... read moreded only twice in the Keys); regular migrant to southeast Arizona, southwest New Mexico, and South Texas.