Clouded Sulphur or Orange Sulphur

Here's a sulphur who was living in my neighborhood. It's either a Clouded Sulphur or an Orange Sulphur. As I've mentioned before, these are very similar butterflies can be difficult to distinguish.

While the top view of the Orange Sulphur's wings usually look orangish-yellow, that effect isn't as prominent on views of the bottom of the wings. I think this one is pale enough to be a Clouded Sulphur, but the identification hasn't been endorsed (or refuted) on iNaturalist; I suspect the coloring is in that inconclusive area.

I've also warned you in the past about relying too heavily on color. All too often lighting can play tricks on what a camera produces. Unfortunately the markings of these two butterflies is close enough that color/shading really is the best way (short of a DNA test) to distinguish them.

Technically these two butterflies will hybridize occasionally, it doesn't sound like it happens often. And given how similar these species are, the simplest explanation is probably a more vibrant Clouded Sulphur or a paler Orange Sulphur.

September 5, 2020 at Finderne, NJ


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