Lyside Sulphur Butterfly - Kricogonia lyside
Superfamily: Papilionoidea / Family: Pieridae - Whites and Sulphurs / Subfamily: Coliadinae - Sulphurs
Live adult Clouded Sulphur butterflies photographed at Winfield, Illinois, USA.


Common, or Clouded Sulphur Butterfly
The Common Sulphur Butterfly is popularly known as the Clouded Sulphur. These butterflies are known to hybridize with the Orange Sulphur, and specimens are very difficult to tell apart in the field. The Northern Illinois Butterfly Monitor Network treats these as one species for counting purposes.
Habitat: Meadows and fields; almost any open spaces, parks and pastures. Flight: Several broods March to December in south.
Range: North America except most of Florida. Life Cycle: Eggs are chartreuse, laid singly on various legumes, especially clovers (Trifolium). Caterpillar bright green with darker stripe on back, lighter green stripe on side. Green chrysalis overwinters. These butterflies are some of the most abundant here in the American midwest. Sometimes they easily outnumber even the Cabbage White Butterfly.
Lyside Sulphur Life Cycle: Caterpillar to 3/4", dull green with silvery or black stripes edged in brown. Chrysalis bluish gray with white bloom. Host plant in Texas: lignumvitae (Porliere angustifolia). Flight: Summer months.
Habitat: Arid plains and open spaces, anywhere host plants occur. Apparently strays widely, into Florida and Midwest.
Range: Tropical America, resident in Texas and southern Arizona