Yesterday was a pretty spectacular day for the orange barred sulphur butterflies. We had eight emerge in our butterfly house. These butterflies have such a magnificent hue and are truly rays of sunshine as they flutter about the garden.

This butterfly, I have read is the largest southeastern sulphur with a wingspan from 2 3/4 to 3 1/2 inches.

Like many other species, the females are larger than the male butterflies. The males are bright yellow and the females hue changes with the season. They have a narrow dark border and are creamy white in the summer and yellow in the winter.

When they have their wings closed, the male has small dark spots on its bright yellow wings, while the female is orange yellow with dark molting during the summer, and more heavily marked during the winter months.