Size:
Wingspan is 1 1/2 - 2 3/8 inches.

Similar Species:
Orange-barred Sulphur

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

Range/Abundance:
Common in most of the region. More abundant in coastal areas. Uncommon in WV and the northern mountains. Migrates in late summer and early fall.

Flight Period:
Adults fly in early March until late November. They become more common as they move northward in September.

Larval Host Plants:
Cassa species including Wild Senna Cassa hebecarpa, Partridge Pea C. fasciculata and other legumes in the Fabaceae family.

Comments:
The English name butterfly came from this butterfly as the Cloudless Sulphur looks like a slice or pat of butterfly in flight. Cloudless Sulphur is easily identified in flight as the upper side is lemon yellow without dark borders.

Some years in September you can watch the Atlantic Ocean and see hundreds of Cloudless Sulphurs flying northward per hour. In the Virginia mountains they have been observed in much smaller numbers moving southwest in the fall and northward in the spring.

The top photo was taken in Orange Co., NC on July 26, 2002. The second photo taken in Columbus Co., NC on October 27, 2002. The third photo was taken in Croatan National Forest in Craven Co., NC on August 24, 2002. The fourth photo was taken in Calhoun Co., SC on October 24, 2002. The bottom photo was taken in Dare Co., NC on September 14, 2002

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