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 361 - 384 of 2236 verified sightings
Observation date: Nov 09, 2019
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 30, 2019
Observation date: Nov 06, 2019
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 30, 2019
Observation date: Nov 30, 2019
Submitted by: Jonathan Clark
Region: La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Dec 24, 2019
Observation date: Jun 09, 2019
Submitted by: Jeff Trahan
Region: Caddo Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Dec 07, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 31, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 31, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 31, 2019
Observation date: Oct 27, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 28, 2019
Observation date: Oct 26, 2019
Submitted by: storolaf
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 26, 2019
Observation date: Oct 29, 2018
Submitted by: TomObrock
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 20, 2019
Observation date: Mar 20, 2017
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 17, 2019
Observation date: Dec 02, 2018
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 16, 2019
Observation date: Oct 06, 2019
Submitted by: Jonathan Clark
Region: La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 14, 2019
Observation date: Oct 11, 2019
Submitted by: dtibbetts@live.com
Region: Hamilton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 13, 2019
Observation date: Oct 09, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 09, 2019
Observation date: Oct 08, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 08, 2019
Observation date: Oct 08, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 08, 2019
Observation date: Apr 28, 2019
Submitted by: Ssneed
Region: Brewster County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 01, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 08, 2019
Submitted by: Chris Barnhart
Region: Greene County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: Robert Nelson
Region: Baxter County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Aug 18, 2019
Submitted by: Markus M
Region: Jalisco, Mexico
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
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