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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Whites, Sulphurs, Yellows (Pieridae) » Whites (Pierinae) » Marbles and Orangetips (Anthocharidini) » Orangetips (Anthocharis) » Falcate Orangetip - Hodges#4207 (Anthocharis midea)

Species Anthocharis midea - Falcate Orangetip - Hodges#4207

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Butterfly ID - Anthocharis midea Falcate Orangetip For Illinois In April - Anthocharis midea - male Anthocharis midea? - Anthocharis midea Falcate Orangetip - Anthocharis midea Falcate Orangetip - Anthocharis midea - female Anthocharis midea - female White Butterfly with checkered edge - Anthocharis midea Falcate Orangetip - Anthocharis midea - Anthocharis midea
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Pieridae (Whites, Sulphurs, Yellows)
Subfamily Pierinae (Whites)
Tribe Anthocharidini (Marbles and Orangetips)
Genus Anthocharis (Orangetips)
Species midea (Falcate Orangetip - Hodges#4207)
Hodges Number
4207
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Anthocharis midea (Hübner)
Orig. Comb: Mancipium midea Hübner 1809
Size
Wingspan 3.5-4.5 cm
Identification
Males are distinctive in eastern North America. A small "white" with orange wing-tips. Females are somewhat larger with no orange on wings. Both have marbled undersurface of hindwing and dark dots on forewings. Flies in early spring, and usually adjacent to woodlands.
larva:
Range
e US (TX-FL-MA-KS) - Map (MPG)
Habitat
Deciduous woodlands
Season
mostly: Mar-May (BG data)
Food
Adults take nectar from spring wildflowers, such as Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Toothwort (Dentaria), and Violets (Viola).
Life Cycle
Males patrol for females and don't seem to stop to nectar very often. Males are usually seen first in the spring (pers. observation, P. Coin, Durham, NC). Larvae feed on plants of mustard family (Brassicaceae). These include rock cress Arabis, winter cress Barbarea, and toothwort, Cardamine (Dentaria). One egg is laid per plant. Caterpillar pupates by late spring. Spends most of year as a chrysalis. Some individuals spend a second winter in the chrysalis stage.
Remarks
The spring butterfly that accompanies the spring ephemeral wildflowers in the eastern deciduous forests. A little flighty and difficult to photograph.
Print References
The Butterflies of North America (1)
Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East (2)
Butterflies of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides) (3)
Allen, Butterflies of West Virginia (4)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - MPG
Butterflies of America - BOA
Butterflies of North Carolina (5)
Works Cited
1.The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide
James A. Scott. 1992. Stanford University Press.
2.Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East
Jeffrey Glassberg. 1999. Oxford University Press.
3.Butterflies of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides)
Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman. 2003. Houghton Mifflin Co.
4.The Butterflies of West Virginia and Their Caterpillars
Thomas J. Allen. 1998. University of Pittsburgh Press.
5.Notes on the Butterflies of North Carolina
Contributed by Cotinis on 27 April, 2004 - 8:00pm
Additional contributions by Chuck Entz, Mike Quinn
Last updated 18 August, 2016 - 8:15am

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