Phoebis philea philea ♂ - Orange-Barred Sulphur / Borboleta-Gema (C. Linnaeus, 1763)

Clouds of Sulphur

Description: Phoebis philea philea is a subspecies of butterfly in the order Lepidoptera, subdivision Bombycina, superfamily Papilionoidea, family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae and tribe Coliadini.

The subject portrayed is a male. The criteria used to differentiate a male from a female of Phoebis philea philea just by observation is through the wing spots. The outer margins of the females' wings' dorsal surface are sprinkled with brown spots, with a larger brown spot on the apex, continuing through the costal margins in smaller spots. The spots on the ventral surface of the wings of the females are more boldly marked than those of males. The dorsal surface of the wings of the males are almost entirely yellow and orange. The ventral surface of the wings of the males are covered in spots which are much more attenuated than those of females. You can visualize the difference here:

www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/html/philea.html

Their larvae feed on a gigantic amount of plants, including Senna sp. (Mill.), such as Senna corymbosa ((Lam.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby) ("Argentine senna"), Senna alata ((L.) Roxb.) ("candle-stick tree"), Senna lindheimeriana ((Scheele) Irwin & Barneby) ("Lindheimer's senna"), and Cassia sp. (L.) such as Cassia fistula (L.) ("golden rain tree" / "canafistula" / and many more) and many more. All of those within: Fabaceae: Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae.

Three subspecies of Phoebis philea are known:

Phoebis philea philea (Linnaeus, 1763) (US to Brazil)
Phoebis philea huebneri (Fruhstorfer, 1907) (Cuba)
Phoebis philea thalestris (Illiger, 1801) (Hispaniola)

They are highly migratory and can be found in a great variety of habitats, including tropical scrub forests, gardens, fields, primary and secondary forest edges, deciduous woodlands, scrubby grasslands and farmlands. These can be found at an altitude between sea level and about 1500m. They can be commonly found in large groups of mixed species, such as Aphrissa statira (Pieridae: Coliadinae: Coliadini), Phoebis argante (Pieridae: Coliadinae: Coliadini) and Rhabdodryas trite (Pieridae: Coliadinae: Coliadini).

Adults have a preference for red-colored flowers as can be seen in the picture, on which it is feeding on the nectar of an Impatiens sp. (L., 1753) (Balsaminaceae) ("jewelweed" / "touch-me-not" / "snapweed" / "patience" / "impatiens" / "busy lizzie").

Further feeding habits of the adults include the nectar of:

Pentas sp. (Benth.) (Rubiaceae: Rubioideae: Knoxieae) ("starcluster")

Hibiscus sp. (L.) (Malvaceae: Malvoideae: Hibisceae) ("rose mallow")

Ixora sp. (L.) (Rubiaceae: Ixoroideae: Ixoreae) ("West Indian Jasmine" / many others...)

Duranta sp. (L.) (Verbenaceae) ("adenis" - Colombia)

Bougainvillea sp. (Comm. ex Juss.) (Nyctaginaceae: Bougainvilleeae) (list of common names here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bougainvillea)

Lantana sp. (L.) (Verbenaceae) ("lantana" / "shrub verbenas")

Another feeding habit of the adult Phoebis philea philea is through the absorption of minerals and moisture from muddy soils. There are probably many more host plants.

As can be noted, all of the plants mentioned above display red variations. It's hard to tell what is the reason that attracts the Phoebis philea philea to red flowers with accuracy; however, bees prefer, what for us, seems like the yellow, white or blue colors. They can also perceive the ultraviolet region of the spectrum that is invisible to us. They are very sensitive to the flavones and flavonols, substances that are absorbed in the ultraviolet and are present in almost all white flowers. The bees are insensitive to the red color, but may visit red flowers guided by the presence of flavones that absorb the ultraviolet light. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are sensitive to red and prefer bright red flowers such as Hibiscus. Some species may visit other colors of flowers, such as white. Butterflies seem to be attracted to bright-colored flowers, which may explain the preference of Phoebis philea philea for red flowers, as red is a strong color. Moths prefer the colors red, purple, white or light-pink, factor that may also vary among species, while wasps prefer monotonous, dark and brown colors, depending on the species. Flies are attracted to dark and light colors, depending on the species, such as black, brown, purple, green or white. Beetles and bats do not seem to have an attraction to the color of the flowers, but to other signals. This last factor might also depend on species. Carotenoids are more present in yellow-colored flowers, while flavones, such as luteolin, and flavonols, such as quercetin, are present in the majority of the white flowers and cream-colored flowers. Bright red flowers possess pelargonidin and cyanidin + carotenoids. Brown flowers possess cyanidin overlapping carotenoids. Pink-colored flowers possess peonidin while violet flowers possess delphinidin. Purple flowers have a high concentration of delphinidin. Green-colored ones possess chlorophylls.

Egg of Phoebis philea: www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/OVA/phileaegg.htm

Larva of Phoebis philea: www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/LARVA/philealarva.htm

Chrysalis of Phoebis philea: www.dallasbutterflies.com/Butterflies/PUPA/phileapupa.htm

Their wingspan can range from around 68mm to 80mm, with a source claiming up to 90mm; this requires confirmation. They can fly high or low, usually next to the margins of rivers. On the hottest hours of the day, the males will absorb moisture and minerals from muddy soils. Females prefer absorbing nectar from flowers; on days which the temperature is attenuated, males will follow the females' habits of absorbing nectar from flowers, especially red ones.

Eggs are laid individually on the leaves or buds of the host plants (such as Cassia sp.). The larvae will feed on the leaves of the plant and, when fully grown, will pupate.

Their most common natural predators are birds, but there are more.

Sources:

www.learnaboutbutterflies.com/Amazon%20-%20Phoebis%20phil... - Ignore the sexual dimorphism part as it is wrong.

www.butterfliesofamerica.com/phoebis_p_philea.htm

www.butterfliesofamerica.com/L/phoebis_p_philea_aberratio... - Different "variations" of P. philea philea.

www.klimanaturali.org/2011/06/borboleta-gema-phoebis-phil...

pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borboleta-amarela

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoebis_philea

www.oocities.org/~esabio/interacao/bioquimica.htm

eol.org/pages/4096306/overview

PROJECT NOAH (Português:
www.projectnoah.org/spottings/591406785

Taken in: Brasil / Santa Catarina / Benedito Novo (show map)

Taken on: July 10, 2017

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Sets appears in: • Coliadini • Coliadinae more » • Papilionoidea • Pieridae • Lepidoptera (Butterflies) • Class: Insecta « less

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Camera: Nikon D7000, f/10.0, 1/50 sec, 105mm (=157mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7000
Lens:	18.0-105.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/10.0
Exposure Time:	0.02 sec (1/50)
Focal Length:	105mm (35mm equivalent: 157mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	+1 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Manual
Exposure Mode:	Manual
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 7.1 (Windows)
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