Sleepy orange | |
---|---|
![]() | |
![]() | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Pieridae |
Genus: | Eurema |
Species: | E. nicippe |
Binomial name | |
Eurema nicippe (Cramer, 1779) | |
Synonyms | |
|
Eurema nicippe, the sleepy orange, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its range spans from Central America to north along the United States-Mexico border, and it often travels further to non-mountainous regions of the southeastern United States. [3]
The sleepy orange is a bright orange butterfly with the upperside of the wings having wide black borders. The forewing costal margin has a small, narrow black marking that resembles a closed eye. Contrary to popular belief, its name originates from this wing patterning, rather than its behavior; the butterfly has a very rapid flight pattern when disturbed. [4] The underside of the wings varies seasonally: summer forms are bright yellow with brick-red markings, while winter forms are browner and more heavily marked. It has a wingspan of 13⁄8–21⁄4 inches (35–50 mm). [5]
The sleepy orange generally prefers low elevation areas, [3] agricultural land, and disturbed sites, [5] and may be found in or around old fields, roadsides, woods edges, swamps, wet meadows, open woodlands, margins of ponds, waterways, and valleys. [4]
Its eggs are spindle-shaped and white in color when first laid, but quickly turn yellow. [4] They are laid on the underside of the leaves of its host plant, often members of the legume family. [6] The larva is pale green with a narrow white stripe along its length on either side and very short hairs. [4] The chrysalis varies from pale green [7] to brown-black later in its life cycle. [5] They have two to four broods per year. They can be found year-round further south, but migrate north during the warmer summer months. [8]
Phoebis sennae, the cloudless sulphur, is a mid-sized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Americas. There are several similar species such as the yellow angled-sulphur, which has angled wings, statira sulphur, and other sulphurs, which are much smaller. The species name comes from the genus Senna to which many of the larval host plants belong.
The Zabulon skipper is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States.
Eurema brigitta, the small grass yellow or broad-bordered grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in India, other parts of Asia, Australia and Africa.
Boloria bellona, the meadow fritillary, is a North American butterfly in the brushfoot family, Nymphalidae. The common name, meadow fritillary, is also used for a European butterfly species, Melitaea parthenoides.
Nathalis iole, the dainty sulphur or dwarf yellow, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Callophrys gryneus, the juniper hairstreak or olive hairstreak, is a butterfly native to North America. It belongs in the family Lycaenidae.
Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their use of passionflowers as a host plant, variegated fritillaries also have taxonomic links to the heliconians. Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word euptoietos meaning "easily scared".
Ancyloxypha numitor, the least skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. They have a weak, Satyrinae-like flight.
Thorybes bathyllus, the southern cloudywing, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. Southern cloudywings can be difficult to identify because of individual variation and confusing seasonal forms. In the south, where it has two broods per year, two seasonal forms occur. Spring forms are usually lightly marked and resemble confused cloudywings. Summer forms tend to be more boldly marked, by comparison, making identification easier. However, summer confused cloudywings are also strongly patterned, which makes identifying them more difficult. Their rapid flight is very erratic, though it is closer to the ground than in some of its close relatives.
Polites themistocles, the tawny-edged skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae.
Lycaena epixanthe, also known as the bog copper or cranberry-bog copper, is a North American species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Adults like to sip drops of dew clinging to leaves and almost exclusively nectar on their host plant, cranberries. Because of this, bog coppers will spend their entire lives within the area of a single acid bog. Even though their flight is weak and close to the ground, bog coppers are hard to catch because of the habitat in which they live. Also, 85% of the bog coppers life span is spent in the egg. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
Danaus eresimus, the soldier or tropical queen, is a North American, Caribbean, and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Eurema mexicana, the Mexican yellow, sometimes called the wolf-face sulphur, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae. It occurs mainly in Mexico but occasionally is found in central and southwestern United States and rarely in Canada.
Eurema proterpia, the tailed orange, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Callophrys henrici, the Henry's elfin or woodland elfin, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. In Canada it is found from southern Manitoba to southern Nova Scotia. It has two main groups of populations in the United States; the first is found along the Atlantic Coast and uses various hollies (Ilex) as host plants; and the second is found mainly in the north and the Appalachians where they use redbud as a host plant. Henry's elfin is increasing in New England because of an introduced buckthorn it now uses as a host plant. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
Papilio palamedes, the Palamedes swallowtail or laurel swallowtail, is a North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.
Senna marilandica, commonly known as Maryland senna, Maryland wild senna, and wild senna, is a perennial flowering plant in the pea family (Fabaceae) native to the United States. It blooms in the summer with yellow flowers, followed by long seed pods, and can grow up to 2 m (6 ft) tall. It prefers average to wet soil.
Kricogonia lyside, the lyside sulphur or guayacan sulphur, is a North American, Caribbean, and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Eurema smilax, the small grass yellow, is a small pierid butterfly species found in Australia, with some additional records from India, Indonesia and Niger.
Eurema herla, also more commonly called the Pink Grass-Yellow or Macleay's Grass-Yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in northern and eastern Australia.