Eurema nicippe

Sleepy orange
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Eurema
Species: E. nicippe
Binomial name
Eurema nicippe
(Cramer, 1779)

Eurema nicippe, the sleepy orange, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is also found in the West Indies, Costa Rica and Belize.

Description

Sleepy oranges puddling on damp ground.

For a key to the terms used, see Lepidopteran glossary

The sleepy orange is a bright orange butterfly with the upper side of the wings having wide black borders. The forewing coastal margin has a small, narrow black spot. Some people think that the sleepy orange got its name from the black spot that looks like a closed eye; others say that the sleepy orange is a misnomer because, when disturbed, the butterfly has a very rapid flight. 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 138–214 inches.

Habitat

The sleepy orange may be found in or around old fields, roadsides, woods edges, swamps, wet meadows, open woodlands, margins of ponds, waterways, and valleys.

Life cycle

The eggs are pale greenish-yellow and turn red just before hatching. They are laid on the underside of the host plant leaves, or sometimes on flowers. The larva is fuzzy and grayish-green, with a whitish-yellow side stripe. The chrysalis varies from green to brownish black. Adult sleepy oranges migrate south to spend the winter. They have 2–4 broods per year.

Host Plants

Here is a list of host plants for the sleepy orange:

Similar species

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, May 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.