Diet

• Caterpillars feed primarily on legumes (Fabaceae), especially Senna species.

• Larvae feed on leaves and young shoots and may also consume flower buds.

• Adults feed on nectar from a wide variety of flowers and frequently visit damp soil, sand, or mud for dissolved minerals.

Range

• Phoebis sennae is one of the most widely distributed sulphurs in the Americas, ranging from the southern United States through Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean to South America.

• It occurs in Guerrero and is found in the Zihua area.

Habitat

• It is found in a wide variety of open and semi-open habitats, including tropical dry forest, woodland edges, scrub, fields, roadsides, gardens, agricultural areas and disturbed vegetation.

• It readily occupies habitats containing Senna and other leguminous host plants.

• In the Zihua area it is particularly likely around sunny forest edges, gardens, roadsides and other flowering areas.

Description

• A large, bright yellow sulphur with a wingspan of approximately 60–80 mm.

• Males are predominantly bright yellow above, with relatively narrow dark markings along the outer wing margins.

• Females are more variable and may be yellow, orange-yellow, or pale whitish, with considerably more dark scaling than males.

• The underside is yellow to greenish-yellow, with scattered reddish-brown markings and a characteristic pair of small silvery spots on the hindwing.

• The forewing tips are pointed and slightly falcate, giving the species a distinctive shape in flight.