Alternate name: Common Sulphur

Family: Pieridae, Whites and Sulphurs view all from this family

Description 1 3/8-2" (35-51 mm). Above, male light yellow with sharp black borders; female yellow or white with yellow-spotted black border. Below, both sexes greenish yellow in spring and fall broods, clear yellow in midsummer; double red-rimmed silvery spot near end of cell and row of brown spots slightly inward from edges of both wings. (Hybrids with Orange Sulphur may have orange patches over about half of wing area.) Albino female has pink fringes.

Similar Species Other sulphurs lack row of brown spots around HW below except the Orange Sulphur, which is larger, orange above, and yellow rather than greenish below. Albino female Orange Sulphur is larger and greener beneath.

Life Cycle Chartreuse egg laid singly on leaves of various legumes, especially clovers (Trifolium). Caterpillar bright green with darker back stripe and light side stripes. Green chrysalis overwinters.

Flight Several broods; March-December, weather permitting.

Habitat Almost any open country; especially numerous in clover meadows, parks, and pastures; absent from dense forests and extreme deserts.

Range Transcontinental except for most of Florida.

Discussion Because it feeds on clover, alfalfa, vetches, and many other pervasive legumes, the Common Sulphur has spread dramatically. It was probably originally a northern and eastern species, while the Orange Sulphur occupied the West and the South. Now, due to the spread of agriculture, their territories have largely merged.