Field and Swamp: Animals and Their Habitats

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Home >> Butterflies >> Whites, Orangetips and Sulphurs

Whites, Orangetips and Sulphurs (Pieridae family)

This family contains the most notorious agricultural pest I've ever encountered, the Cabbage White, abundant where there are cabbage family plants, but absent elsewhere. On the other hand, Cloudless Sulphurs seem to be abundant wherever the weather is warm. Sleepy Oranges have widely varying wing patterns that seem to be determined by the local climate at that time, and seem to fall into five stages.

Whites (Pierinae sub-family)

Falcate Orangetips (Anthocharis midea)

Seen at Indian Creek Wildlife Observation Trail, Chatham County, NC.


Falcate Orangetip. This male managed to discover this small white flower in an apparently flowerless scrubby field on 3/10/06.	Falcate Orangetip This female appeared on 4/4/06.	Female Falcate Orangetip, Indian Creek Wildlife Observation Trail, Chatham County, NC, 3/25/07. Note the plant it's visiting, with its white flower and spade-shaped leaves.

All seen in the Orange County part of Eno River State Park on 4/4/05. They visited at least three species of plants with small white flowers. One of these is the Toothwort (Cardamine genus). According to Bob Cavanaugh of Carteret County, NC, the Shepherd's-Purse, a pest plant, is their main host plant on the NC coast.


Falcate Orangetip Female: notice the "falcate" shape of the forewing apex. It's harder to see on the male.	Falcate Orangetip Female	Falcate Orangetip Female	Falcate Orangetip Male on bluet	Falcate Orangetip Male	Falcate Orangetip Male, visiting a Bluet or Quaker Lady, according to Josh Rose


Falcate Orangetip Male and female engaged in mating ritual. The male fluttered at various fixed points above the female, who remained stationary.	Falcate Orangetip Eno River State Park, Old Cole Mill Road access, 4/7/05. The toothwort plant, a member of the Cardamine (bittercress) genus. Falcate Orangetips favor this plant.	Female Falcate Orangetip, Indian Creek Trail, Chatham County, NC, 4/10/05

Great Southern Whites (Ascia monuste)


Female. This butterfly may officially be a "white," but it's actually very colorful. The mostly yellow wings have some orange and green veins, and the antennae clubs are light blue. I found this butterfly in the only place where I've ever seen this species: at an out-of-the-way beach in Loíza, Puerto Rico on 1/10/05. In fact, it was visiting flowers at the edge of a karst forest.	Male. I found this butterfly on 1/6/05 in the same Puerto Rico location as the female above. The black forewing tips identify it as a male.	Male, same location, 1/10/05. The blue antennae clubs show up best in this photo.

Other Whites


Checkered White (Pontia protodice): This is a Checkered White (pontia protodice), a rare visitor to North Carolina. I photographed this one in Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, NC on 9/20/02. It used to be much more common here, but apparently lost its territory to its rapacious Cabbage White and went west. This butterfly saw me from about 30 feet off and took flight, displaying a cowardice that might explain this phenomenon!	Cabbage White (Pieris rapae): Not all butterflies are lovable. Here is an adult female (note the two black spots on each wing) Cabbage White on a large cabbage in the North Carolina Botanical Garden, perhaps laying eggs (ovipositing): I think that's two of them projecting long shadows in the upper part of the picture. Right next to this adult is a caterpillar of the same species. This cabbage shows no damage so far, but woe betide the would-be organic broccoli farmer around here! The Cabbage White's Latin name is Pieris Rapae, and the "Rapae" probably means what it sounds like. This photo was taken on 5/28/03.	Cabbage White, NC Museum of Art, outdoor trail, 6/5/05. Cabbage Whites seem fewer in number these days than in the recent past. In fact, only the woods butterflies have kept their numbers up.	Cabbage White, Boone, Watauga County, 8/31/05.

Yellows and Sulphurs (Coliadinae sub-family)

Clouded Sulphur

Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice), Asheville, Buncombe County, NC 5/25/04. The narrow black border distinguishes it from the the Orange Sulphur. This is the only "true" butterfly I know of that ranges far north, in fact, all the way to northern Alaska. On the other hand, the southern edge of its range is in NC.

Orange Sulphurs (Colias eurytheme)

To some butterfliers, the sighting of an Orange Sulphur is merely occasion for a yawn: they are officially Common to Abundant. However, I find them very interesting because of their great variety by region -- and abundance.

"Normal" Orange Sulphur, Fredericksburg, VA

On lantana.

"Normal" Orange Sulphurs in Durham: orange and black, no white or green


Orange Sulphur, Durham, NC, 10/14/08	Orange Sulphur, dorsal view, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, 5/21/09	Orange Sulphur, Durham, 5/3/06	Orange Sulphur, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC, 6/17/06

Greenish White Form Orange Sulphurs, Eastern North Carolina, NC, on warm days in mid-February


Orange Sulphur, Greenville, Pitt County, NC, 2/16/07. Note the wide black border on the dorsal side of the far forewing. This was a mild-to-warm day.	Orange Sulphur, Greenville, Pitt County, NC, 2/16/07. Note the six prominent post-medial pink spots on the green hind wing, which set it apart from the other Orange Sulphurs below.	Orange Sulphur, Durham, NC, 2/21/07. The high reached 70° that day after a month-long cold spell.

Orange County Orange Sulphur, 3/8/06

Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC, 3/8/06

Orange County White Form Orange Sulphur, 9/22/04

White form Orange Sulphur, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, 9/22/04. This butterfly has more pink than the typical Pink-edged Sulphur!

Durham County white form Orange Sulphur


White form Orange Sulphur, Durham, 10/31/05.	White form Orange Sulphur, Penny's Bend, Durham County, NC, 5/24/08

Asheville, Buncombe County, NC Orange Sulphur

Orange Sulphur, 6/1/04, Asheville, Buncombe County, NC.

Mount Mitchell (NC) summit Orange Sulphurs, 7/9/05: all appeared in the grass next to the parking lot or the brush just beyond it except for the rightmost butterfly.

A classic white form Orange Sulphur. Note the prominent pink border.


A very worn normally colored Orange Sulphur.	This fairly fresh normally colored Orange Sulphur was hiding in the grass.	A slightly faded Orange Sulphur that seemed to lie on its side.

Boone, Watauga County, NC Orange Sulphur, 8/8/06

Orange Sulphur, Moses Cone Memorial Park, Watauga County, NC, 8/8/06

Cloudless Sulphurs (Phoebus sennae)


Male Cloudless Sulphur, Duke Gardens, Durham, NC, 9/17/05	Cloudless Sulphur, dorsal view. Durham, NC, 10/15/08	Cloudless Sulphur, ventral view (not in swamp area). Durham, NC, 10/15/08	Male Cloudless Sulphurs, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC, 8/24/05. Photo taken by Karl Gottschalk.

Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe)

Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe), Little Scaly Mountain, Macon County, NC, 8/19/04. There is a lot of variation in wing markings for this species. So much so that I've devoted a whole page to this subject at Sleepy Oranges.