Phoebis sennae

Phoebis sennae (Phoebis sennae)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — pieridae

Genus – phoebis

Appearance

The caterpillar is usually pale green with a yellow stripe on each side and rows of black spots across each ventral segment. There are small bluish-green areas above and below the yellow band. There is also a yellow form that occurs when the caterpillar feeds on the yellow flowers of its host plants. The older yellow-shaped caterpillars have a dark transverse stripe on each segment.

Wing spans range from 4.8 to 6.5 cm (approximately 1.9 to 2.6 in). Adults are usually bright yellow, but some summer form females are pale yellow or white. Females have a narrow black border on the wings and a dark spot in the middle of the front wing. Males are seasonally dimorphic with winter forms being larger and with darker markings ventrally.

Habitat

Phoebis sennae is widspread in the southern United States, and it strays northward to Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and New Jersey, and even into Canada. It is also found southward through South America to Argentina and in the West Indies.

Behavior

It demonstrates daily activity. The flight is fast. Males are often found on wet ground, where they absorb moisture with minerals. The caterpillars eat the leaves and rest on the underside of the leaf petioles.

In the fall, the butterflies leave their breeding grounds in the northern United States and travel south to Florida and other regions of the southern United States, where they live until the end of the winter. In the spring, the surviving adults head north and soon repopulate the summer breeding areas.

Diet

The adult butterfly feeds on nectar from many different flowers with long tubes including cordia, bougainvillea, cardinal flower, hibiscus, lantana, and wild morning glory. The larvae also feed on sennas and partridge peas.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 50 x 50 x 70 cm. Females lay eggs one at a time on the young leaves of the forage plant. The eggs are cream colored when laid but later turn to orange. The egg stage lasts six days. It is better to keep the caterpillars in terrariums of 6-8 pieces, placing a pot with a forage plant in it.

The caterpillar develops for 3-4 weeks. They should be kept at the room temperature and the humidity of 50-60%. Pupae may be either green or pink with yellow lines. The duration of the pupa stage is 7-10 days.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours. You can feed the butterflies with honey syrup diluted with boiled water in a ratio of 1: 10.