Eurema nicippe
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Eurema nicippe, the sleepy orange, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. Its range spans from Central America to north along the United States-Mexico border, and it often travels further to non-mountainous regions of the southeastern United States.[1]
Description
Template:Entomology glossary hatnote The sleepy orange is a bright orange butterfly with the upperside of the wings having wide black borders. The forewing costal margin has a small, narrow black marking that resembles a closed eye. Contrary to popular belief, its name originates from this wing patterning, rather than its behavior; the butterfly has a very rapid flight pattern when disturbed.[2] 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 1<templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />3⁄8–2<templatestyles src="Fraction/styles.css" />1⁄4 inches (35–50 mm).[3]
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underside (summer form)
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puddling on damp ground
Habitat
The sleepy orange generally prefers low elevation areas,[1] agricultural land, and disturbed sites,[3] and may be found in or around old fields, roadsides, woods edges, swamps, wet meadows, open woodlands, margins of ponds, waterways, and valleys.[2]
Life cycle
Its eggs are spindle-shaped and white in color when first laid, but quickly turn yellow.[2] They are laid on the underside of the leaves of its host plant, often members of the legume family.[4] The larva is pale green with a narrow white stripe along its length on either side and very short hairs.[2] The chrysalis varies from pale green[5] to brown-black later in its life cycle.[3] They have two to four broods per year. They can be found year-round further south, but migrate north during the warmer summer months.[6]
Host plants
- Partridge pea, Chamaecrista fasciculata
- Wild sensitive plant, Chamaecrista nictitans
- Senna hebecarpa
- Privet senna, Senna ligustrina
- Senna marilandica
- Senna mexicana
- Senna obtusifolia
Similar species
- Colias eurytheme - orange sulphur
- Eurema proterpia - tailed orange
References
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- Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman (2003). Butterflies of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Template:ISBN.
- James A. Scott (1986). The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. Template:ISBN
- Ernest M. Shull (1987). The Butterflies of Indiana. Indiana Academy of Science. Template:ISBN
- Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (2005). Butterflies of the East Coast. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Template:ISBN
- David L. Wagner (2005). Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. Template:ISBN