Diet

• Caterpillars feed on a variety of woody plants, particularly legumes (Fabaceae) and trumpet vines (Bignoniaceae).

• Adults feed mainly on flower nectar and are particularly attracted to red and orange flowers.

• Males also visit mud and damp ground to obtain dissolved minerals.

Range

• Phoebis statira, now frequently placed in the genus Aphrissa, ranges from southern Texas and Florida through Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean to South America, reaching Argentina.

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

Habitat

• It occurs in tropical and subtropical forest, tropical dry forest, forest edges, clearings, woodland and secondary vegetation.

• It is also found in gardens, roadsides and other open habitats containing suitable flowering plants and larval hosts.

• In the Zihua area, it is most likely along sunny forest edges and in open tropical vegetation.

Description

• A medium-sized sulphur with a wingspan of approximately 55–75 mm.

• The wings are predominantly pale to bright yellow, with a very fine black line along the outer margins.

• Males are generally more intensely yellow, while females tend to be paler and may have a whitish appearance.

• The underside is yellow to yellow-green with scattered reddish-brown markings and small silvery spots.

• The forewings are somewhat pointed and the hindwings rounded, giving the butterfly a graceful appearance in flight.

• Caterpillars are green and can have a yellow or whitish longitudinal stripe with small dark markings; their colouration closely resembles the foliage on which they feed.