Size:
Wingspan is 1 3/8 - 1 7/8 inches.

Similar Species:
Orange Sulphur
Little Yellow

Habitat:
Widely found in all types of open areas and cultivated fields.

Range/Abundance:
Common to abundant in most of the region, except in WV and in the mountains where it’s uncommon to rare because it can not survive the colder winters.

Flight Period:
Adults fly from early March until late November in at least three broods with gaps between broods.

Larval Host Plants:
Sennas including Cassia hebecarpa, C. marilandica, Sicklepod Senna obtusifolia and Partridge Pea C. fasciculata. Also clovers of the Trifolium family.

Comments:
A good place to look for this species is overgrown corn fields that have large amounts of Sicklepod Senna obtusifolia growing. Sometimes you can find Sleepy Orange by the hundreds in and around these fields.

Smaller Sleepy Oranges can be mistaken for the smaller Little Yellow which is a lemon yellow.

The top photo was taken in Durham Co., NC on August 17, 2002. The center photo was taken in Orange Co., NC on August 09, 2002. The bottom photo was taken in Calhoun Co., SC on October 25, 2002.

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