Colias eurytheme
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Colias eurytheme, the orange sulphur, also known as the alfalfa butterfly and in its larval stage as the alfalfa caterpillar, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, where it belongs to the lowland group of "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae. It is found throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico.
Other members of this lineage including the common or clouded sulphur (C. philodice) and C. eriphyle and C. vitabunda, which are often included in C. philodice as subspecies. Hybridization runs rampant between these, making phylogenetic analyses exclusively utilizing one type of data (especially mtDNA sequences) unreliable. Therefore, little more can be said about its relationships, except that it is perhaps closer to C. (p.) eriphyle than generally assumed, strengthening the view that the latter should be considered a valid species.
The orange sulphur's caterpillars feed off various species in the pea family (Fabaceae) and are usually only found feeding at night. Occasionally this species multiplies to high numbers, and can become a serious pest to alfalfa (Medicago sativa) crops. The parasitoid wasp, Cotesia medicaginis can be used as a biocontrol agent against the caterpillars. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Joshua Tree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Death Valley National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Channel Islands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 13 | Saguaro National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 14 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 16 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | San Luis Potosí | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Sulphur sighting in Los Angeles on a given day, based on 176 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 119th most-seen of the 851 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report an Orange Sulphur in Los Angeles on a given day, against under 5% in August–September and November–June, the lowest months. Those are among Los Angeles's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 75 mm in February.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Orange Sulphur sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
23rd of 29
Of the 29 cities where we can rate Orange Sulphur sightings, Los Angeles ranks 23rd at under 5%. The best odds are in Dallas (United States, about 20%), Austin (United States, about 20%) and San Antonio (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Pieridae
The closest relatives of the Orange Sulphur that you can see in Los Angeles (family Pieridae, Whites, Yellows, and Sulphurs) are Small White (about 20%), Cloudless Sulphur (about 10%) and Checkered White (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Orange Sulphur is recorded against all the insects logged in Los Angeles (176 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
