Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice)
Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC
16 Mar 2023
I took several in-flight photos to try to document the lack of orange on the dorsal wing surfaes. These dorsal shots are blurry and highly cropped but they do suffice!
Found more commonly in the NC mountains and piedmont, Clouded Sulphurs are fairly rare in the coastal plain. Care must be taken to properly distinguish these butterflies from the similar and more common Orange Sulphur, especially in the springtime when some Orange Sulphurs show very little orange on the dorsal surface. Clouded Sulphurs do not show any orange coloration in the dorsal forewing, although a hint of orange may be present in the ventral forewing of some populations (see Colias eriphyle below).
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#1655a Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC 16 Mar 2023 I took several in-flight photos to try to document the lack of orange on the dorsal wing surfaes. These dorsal shots are blurry and highly cropped but they do suffice! |
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#1655b Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC 16 Mar 2023 Same individual as in above row. |
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#1613 Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC 16 Mar 2023 |
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#2474 Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC 5 May 2023 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Durham Division Duke Forest, Durham Co., NC 14 Sep 2019 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Cates Farm Park, Alamance Co., NC 6 Mar 2023 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Durham Division Duke Forest, Orange Co., NC 21 Sep 2019 Same individual. Nectaring on Symphyotrichum (left) and Chrysogonum (right). |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Duke Forest, Orange Co., NC 25 Sep 2011 Orange Sulphur may not be ruled out |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Fletcher Wildlife Preserve, Ottawa 11 July 2018 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Fletcher Wildlife Preserve, Ottawa 11 July 2018 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Fletcher Wildlife Preserve, Ottawa 11 July 2018 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Fletcher Wildlife Preserve, Ottawa 11 July 2018 |
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| Albino Clouded Sulphur or Orange Sulphur Chatham Co., NC 19 Oct 2005 |
same individual photographed in flight at high speed |
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| same individual photographed in flight at high speed |
same individual photographed in flight at high speed |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Watauga Co., NC 27 June 2004 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Condon, Missoula Co., MT 4 Aug 2014 Note that looking at the ventral might give you the impression of Orange Sulpbur, but the dorsal clearly shows no orange in the forewing. |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Mt. Baldy, Missoula Co., MT 17 July 2013 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Mt. Baldy, Missoula Co., MT 17 July 2013 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Mt. Baldy, Missoula Co., MT 2 Sep 2013 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Mt. Baldy, Missoula Co., MT 2 Sep 2013 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG North, Northern Missoula Co., MT 6 Sep 2013 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG North, Northern Missoula Co., MT 6 Sep 2013 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) MPG North near Condon, Missoula Co., MT 11 July 2014 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) MPG North near Condon, Missoula Co., MT 11 July 2014 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Angela, Rosebud Co., MT 1 June 2014 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Angela, Rosebud Co., MT 2 June 2014 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Mt. Baldy, Missoula Co., MT 2 Sep 2013 Note that this very well could be an Orange Sulphur (C. eurytheme), but I do not recall seeing any orange on the dorsal surface in flight, and C. p. eriphyle can show ventral orange on the forewing. |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Condon, Missoula Co., MT 8 Aug 2015 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Missoula Co., MT 1 May 2014 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Goat Flat, Granite Co., MT 16 July 2015 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 17 Apr 2016 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Rock Creek, Carbon Co., MT 23 July 2023 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Near Kaycee, Johnson Co., WY 25 July 2024 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle) Beartooth Hwy, Park Co., WY 22 July 2023 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Near Kaycee, Johnson Co., WY 5 July 2024 |
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| Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Bighorn Range, Washakie Co., WY 5 July 2024 |
Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) Bighorn Range, Washakie Co., WY 5 July 2024 |
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Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice eriphyle), left Orange Sulphur (Colias eurytheme), right MPG Ranch, Missoula Co., MT 6 Oct 2015 Nice side by side comparison of male sulphurs. Note that the Orange Sulphur shows stronger orange in the disc of the ventral forewing, and a wider black forewing border. |
Created on ... July 16, 2004 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com