Promoted
Cloudless Sulfur Larva (Phoebis sennae)
On Partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata), one of its known host plants. I was surprised at how much this looks like the pods of the partridge pea plant (when flattened out)! I almost passed it by for that reason!
Thanks to Barry for bringing up the bright color/possible aposematism here! It turns out that the host plants (Senna, Cassia, and Chamaecrista sp.) are all poisonous species. So larvae like this one that (pretty much exclusively) feed on them accumulate a toxic deterrent!
I found this while taking my first count for the Great Georgia Pollinator Census!
The cloudless sulphur or cloudless giant sulphur is a midsized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the New World. There are several similar species such as the yellow angled-sulphur, which has angled wings, or other sulphurs, which are much smaller.
comments (7)
Also, it was much easier to photograph than its adult form :P Posted 6 years ago
I JUST had to look it up, and it seems that the host plants (Senna, Cassia, and Chamaecrista sp.) are all poisonous. So larvae like this one that (pretty much exclusively) feed on them accumulate a toxic deterrent!
Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I will definitely add it to the description! Posted 6 years ago