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The Sleepy Orange is a medium-sized sulphur butterfly with a wingspan of about 35 to 57 mm. The upperside is a bright burnt orange with wide, uneven black borders, and the forewing has a small black cell spot. At rest it holds its wings closed, so the underside is what you usually see. The underside comes in two seasonal forms. The summer form is orange-yellow below, and the winter (fall) form is darker, brick red, brown, or tan. Both forms show faint diagonal brown markings across the underside of the hindwing.
This butterfly lives in open, sunny places such as old fields, roadsides, pastures, desert washes, and the edges of woods where its host plants grow. It is a resident of the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, and it strays north each summer and fall, sometimes reaching the Great Plains and the Great Lakes states. Some of our specimens were collected near Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The name “sleepy” refers to its fairly slow flight, which usually stays low and close to the ground. Adults sip nectar from many flowers and males gather at wet soil to take up minerals. In the South the winter-form adults pass the cold months in a reproductive pause and become active again on warm days.
Complete metamorphosis. The female lays single eggs on the leaves of Senna plants (most of which were once placed in Cassia), such as sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) and Maryland senna. The slender green caterpillars eat the leaves and then form a green or dark chrysalis on the host plant. There are several generations a year in warm areas, with adults flying all year in the far South and from midsummer to fall farther north.
Harmless. The caterpillars feed only on wild Senna and related plants and do not damage crops or gardens. Sicklepod is a weed in southern farm fields, so the caterpillars may even give a small benefit, and the adults help pollinate the flowers they visit.
This preserved specimen educates on butterfly diversity and seasonal color forms, suitable for displays or studies. Check it out on BugGuide! https://bugguide.net/node/view/3815
The Sleepy Orange is a medium-sized sulphur butterfly with a wingspan of about 35 to 57 mm. The upperside is a bright burnt orange with wide, uneven black borders, and the forewing has a small black cell spot. At rest it holds its wings closed, so the underside is what you usually see. The underside comes in two seasonal forms. The summer form is orange-yellow below, and the winter (fall) form is darker, brick red, brown, or tan. Both forms show faint diagonal brown markings across the underside of the hindwing.
This butterfly lives in open, sunny places such as old fields, roadsides, pastures, desert washes, and the edges of woods where its host plants grow. It is a resident of the southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies, and it strays north each summer and fall, sometimes reaching the Great Plains and the Great Lakes states. Some of our specimens were collected near Hot Springs, South Dakota.
The name “sleepy” refers to its fairly slow flight, which usually stays low and close to the ground. Adults sip nectar from many flowers and males gather at wet soil to take up minerals. In the South the winter-form adults pass the cold months in a reproductive pause and become active again on warm days.
Complete metamorphosis. The female lays single eggs on the leaves of Senna plants (most of which were once placed in Cassia), such as sicklepod (Senna obtusifolia) and Maryland senna. The slender green caterpillars eat the leaves and then form a green or dark chrysalis on the host plant. There are several generations a year in warm areas, with adults flying all year in the far South and from midsummer to fall farther north.
Harmless. The caterpillars feed only on wild Senna and related plants and do not damage crops or gardens. Sicklepod is a weed in southern farm fields, so the caterpillars may even give a small benefit, and the adults help pollinate the flowers they visit.
This preserved specimen educates on butterfly diversity and seasonal color forms, suitable for displays or studies. Check it out on BugGuide! https://bugguide.net/node/view/3815
