Our cloudless sulphur hatched this morning, bringing sunshine to our butterfly house with its amazing hue of lemony yellow. This is the second one we have successfully raised.

Be sure to check out https://bit.ly/3ODdxuB for more information, and photographs, of the cloudless sulphur lifecycle.

The legs of a butterfly have been catching my attention lately. When they walk on your hand it sometimes tickles.

Their legs are comprised of the coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus. The coxa attaches the legs to the body, while the trochanter, a small segment, creates a movable joint with the coxa, according to the book “Florida Butterfly Gardening.” The femur is attached to the other end of the trochanter. The longest parts of the legs are the femur and tibia. The tarsus is comprised of five sections.

When a butterfly is looking for its host plant it will use the tarsus, smaller spines, to scratch the leaves.

Research shows that there are many generations of this butterfly in Florida. They are very abundant from August through November.

Of course it kept its wings closed before it rapidly took off making it hard to see if it was a male or female. This butterfly has a wingspan of 4.8 to 6.5 centimeters and is a fan of our cassia tree in our garden.