Joy! - Phoebis agarithe

Phoebis agarithe

It's a female "Large Orange Sulphur". The pattern varies a little from individual to individual, and the females can be white, pinkish, yellowish, orange, or just about anything in between. Sometimes the dark markings below are very strong, sometimes almost invisible (though the later state is rare in females). Males are (as far as I know) always orange. This is probably the second most common Phoebis (next to P. sennae) in much of Texas. It is more likely to move northward in the summer than is Orange-barred. The give-away is the nearly straight dark line (broken or not) on the under side of the fore wing. On P. sennae and P. philea it is disjointed and strongly offset.

… David J. Ferguson, 28 August, 2008 - 11:06am

Thank-you so much!

It is more satisfying to move something to the species page rather than to just the genus page, although I believe I would have been content only to have been there for the moment!

… Gacko, 28 August, 2008 - 11:16am

I think this could be an Orange-barred Sulphur

compare:

The line of smudges seems more broken than on Large Orange Sulphur.

Well, maybe. Now that I see them all together I'm not really sure. : )

… Hannah Nendick-Mason, 27 August, 2008 - 7:19pm

I think I agree.

The line seems to be made up of little "v's" instead of a solid smudge, although the angle of light seems to make it look different each time. Seems that both are a "sometimes" visitor in the Dallas area with the Large Orange being more likely. I'll leave it here and see if someone else has an opinion!

… Gacko, 27 August, 2008 - 8:12pm

If it was an orange giant sur

If it was an orange giant surely it would be orange? I know of albino females in various colias so maybe theres one here too?

Just had a look and found this:

Apparently there is such thing as a pink-white form in Phoebis agarithe.

Nice find!

… James Bailey, 27 August, 2008 - 5:51pm