On Tuesday our cloudless sulphur caterpillar was roaming around the butterfly house in search of the ideal space for its chrysalis.
It’s interesting how dark the coloring was before it began the next stage.
From early this morning until mid afternoon it finished the process.
This sulphur hangs vertically from a silk pad, as well as being suspended from the silk girdle.
Did you know the cloudless sulphur is called “cloudless” because the male is pure yellow without any markings on the top of its wings? This species is very popular in our area, as females migrate south through Florida to the southern counties of the state.
I found another cloudless sulphur caterpillar resting on our cassia tree.
The two caterpillars below are residents of our butterfly house. Another caterpillar that changes with its appearance as it goes through its various instars.
As with many caterpillars when they consume the leaves of their host plant, they take in toxins, so they can fight off predators from eating them. This caterpillar, the cloudless sulphur capterpillar, turns the colors of its leaves, either green, or yellow.
As always, my page for more information about the cloudless sulphur: https://bit.ly/3zMvcLJ
I do not think I could have chosen a better location if I tried. Our butterfly garden in our front yard constantly brings happiness when I peek out the window watching a variety of butterflies stop in for a visit. I love watching our regulars, the monarch and gulf fritillary, but when we get a nonregular, the giddiness bubbles over.
Today the cloudless sulphur returned to lay more eggs on our cassia tree. I sat, watched, and of course took tons of photographs as she both glided and fluttered her wings near and on the tree. I was pleasantly surprised when I looked at what I captured.
The cassia tree, it’s host plant, is still young, and has a lot of growing to do. I love frequenting the native garden sale at a park nearby, as it includes a great assortment of young plants that the master gardeners grow and sell for incredible prices. I could not pass up the tree this past time and hope next month they will have more, as I may need more caterpillar food if she continues to frequent my garden.
The eggs she laid are a cream color at first before turning orange. When the caterpillar first emerges they are incredibly small and all yellow. As they grow they turn green with yellow lateral lines and blue patches.
The courtship of the cloudless sulphur is one of a dance. According to the Florida Wildflower Foundation the male will scope out a female around nectar plants during the day. The male will touch the female’s wings, and if the female is okay with his courtship, she will flick her wings and close them. If the female does not want to mate, she will raise her abdomen and open her wings telling him she’s not interested.
The cloudless sulphur takes a lengthy journey during its migration with some migrating as far as 100 miles north of Gainesville, Florida. This butterfly does not cope well with temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit. According to the Florida Wildflower Foundation, they fly within three meters of the ground and if they run into an obstacle they fly higher instead of around, so they do not alter the direction they are headed.
Although blurry, I love this photo because it showed just how fast her wings were fluttering near the tree.
The wingspan of the cloudless sulphur ranges from two to three inches. The males are mostly all yellow, while the females have dark spots along the border of its wings, as well as the center of its forewing. This butterfly’s favorite nectar plant are those of red coloring. They have very long tongues enabling them to reach far down into flowers.
