Sleepy Orange

Here's a Sleepy Orange butterfly. This butterfly is one of the sulphurs, and in my area is probably the 4th most common butterfly in the subfamily. It's one of two butterflies that are easily confused with the Orange Sulphur due to similar coloring; the Sleepy Orange is probably only slightly more vibrant and has different markings. By comparison, the Clouded Sulphur is slightly less vibrant than the Orange Sulphur but with virtually identical markings. (The Clouded and the Orange Sulphurs can hybridize. As far as I know, the Sleepy Orange cannot hybridize with either of the others.)

We also have Cloudless Sulphurs in my area, but they're less likely to be mistaken for the others because they're both larger and paler. After these 4, I haven't encountered any other sulphurs around here, but these 4 species combine to make mostly-yellow butterflies a very common sight.

Up until about 3 years ago the Sleepy Orange hadn't been found in Somerset County, but the last couple of years they've become semi-common at Duke Farms even though they're awfully hard to find elsewhere in the county. The theory is that the Wild Senna that Duke Farms took pains to restore to the property has enabled the Sleepy Orange to carve out a home there.




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