Abaeis nicippe

Moved

… Jason D. Roberts, 28 January, 2008 - 3:03pm

Sleepy Orange, I believe.

Compare below and see guide:

This is a much smaller butterfly than the white angled sulphur. A measurement (you could measure the flower after the insect is gone for an estimate) would probably have ruled out the other, in addition to the hind wing markings, and range data (it's not a FL butterfly).

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 19 November, 2007 - 7:29am

Sleepy

I agree with Sleepy Orange. Everything I see indicates Eurema nicippe.

… Jason D. Roberts, 27 November, 2007 - 3:27pm

Sleepy Orange

Hi Hannah,

I think you are right about the ID. I am much more of a photographer than a butterfly guy. Guess I need to start reading not just the description but also the size. Thanks for your quick response.

… Tom Rowland, 19 November, 2007 - 4:58pm

Changed my mind, Barred Sulphur

http://bugguide.net/node/view/6102 is a link to the pix here, but I have seen other sources that look a lot more like the pix I took.

Can anyone say for sure if this is a Barred Sulphur (Eurema daira).

… Tom Rowland, 20 November, 2007 - 7:21am

I don't think so

Here's a picture of Eurema daira that I took - I don't think the hind wing markings or shape are such a good match for yours as the Sleepy Orange. It's also an even smaller butterfly - look at its size in relation to a similar flower.

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 20 November, 2007 - 8:03am

I am still confused

Hi Hanna,

I have a very nice guide they gave out at the Monarch Festival at St. Marks that was produced by the Florida Museum of Natural History. The pix they have of the Barred Sulphur looks a lot like mine, with a very obvious yellow-orange band like the one in my pix. Unfortunately there is no size description. You really make a good case for a Sleepy Orange, but the pix in my guide has a monolithic color of the wing, while mine seems to have two different colors in the wing.

On the other hand you do have a lot more experience taking the whole situation into consideration, especially size.

In any case I found some more images I took of this butterfly and have posted one to help better determine the size. Here is the link to the original

http://www.pbase.com/tommy2guns/image/89259913/original

Based on the color of this image (different light angle) I think you are right about it being a Sleepy Orange.

By the by I have lots of butterfly images at this link

http://www.pbase.com/tommy2guns/butterfly_rainforest_at_university_of_florida&page=all

Alan Chin-Lee helped me ID when he was at UF.

… Tom Rowland, 20 November, 2007 - 7:52pm

I think you could do with a second opinion -

maybe someone else here will offer one!

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 20 November, 2007 - 8:34pm