Dainty Sulphur
Nathalis iole Boisduval, 1836
Family: Pieridae
Subfamily: Coliadinae
Identification: Small, with elongated forewings. Upperside yellow with black markings, female with more extensive black than male. White form very rare. Underside of forewing with orange or yellow patch at base of wing and black spots at outer wing edge. Winter form has dusty green hindwing, summer form hindwing is pale yellow.
Wing Span: 3/4 - 1 1/4 inches (2 - 3.2 cm).
Life History: Males patrol a few inches above the ground in low areas for females. Females lay eggs singly on leaves of host plant seedlings. Adults rest with wings closed and held perpendicular to the sun's rays to warm themselves.
Flight: Throughout the year in peninsular Florida and South Texas. After overwintering as adults in the South, some migrate north in spring and summer. Flight of about 6 months in the north.
Caterpillar Hosts: Low-growing plants in the aster family (Asteraceae) especially shepherd's needle (Bidens pilosa), sneezeweed (Helenium), fetid marigold (Dyssodia), and cultivated marigold (Tagetes).
Adult Food: Nectars at Labrador tea, asters, wild marigold, rabbitbrush, and others.
Habitat: Open, dry places including coastal flats, weedy fields, grasslands, road edges, meadows, and hillsides.
Range: Resident in Guatemala north to peninsular Florida and the Southwest. Cannot survive cold winters, therefore every summer re-colonizes through the Great Plains to southeast Washington, southeast Idaho, Wyoming, and Minnesota.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 289 - 312 of 2236 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 27, 2021
Submitted by: Jrock-kodama
Region: Orange County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 31, 2021
Observation date: Mar 21, 2021
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 24, 2021
Observation date: Mar 20, 2021
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 21, 2021
Observation date: Mar 13, 2021
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 17, 2021
Observation date: Mar 14, 2021
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Mar 17, 2021
Observation date: May 04, 2010
Submitted by: BarbSendelbach
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Mar 11, 2021
Observation date: Nov 02, 2020
Submitted by: DebW
Region: Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 11, 2021
Observation date: Aug 28, 2019
Submitted by: Jacksenzig
Region: Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Feb 27, 2021
Observation date: Sep 25, 2020
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: Laramie County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Feb 02, 2021
Observation date: Sep 20, 2015
Submitted by: stucknick
Region: Des Moines County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Jul 26, 2016
Submitted by: B Manning
Region: Polk County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2019
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Cherry County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 03, 2020
Observation date: Oct 27, 2020
Submitted by: Englishman
Region: Pinellas County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 28, 2020
Observation date: Oct 15, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 27, 2020
Observation date: Oct 12, 2020
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 16, 2020
Observation date: Sep 21, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Catron County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 13, 2020
Observation date: Oct 03, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 04, 2020
Observation date: Sep 20, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Morton County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 27, 2020
Observation date: Sep 20, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Morton County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 27, 2020
Observation date: Sep 18, 2020
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 16, 2020
Submitted by: billd
Region: Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 27, 2020
Observation date: Aug 21, 2020
Submitted by: eroutside
Region: Broward County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 26, 2020
Observation date: Aug 19, 2020
Submitted by: pnesterenko
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Aug 21, 2020
Observation date: Aug 18, 2020
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 18, 2020
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