Sulphur butterfly
Phoebis sp. · Butterflies
Sulphur butterfly
Carlsbad, 7 March 2026
A large sulphur at rest with the wings closed in the butterfly house at Carlsbad, which is the only way this group ever sits. The Phoebis sulphurs are butterflies of the American tropics, of open ground and gardens from Florida to Argentina, and the big ones migrate in clouds along the Gulf coast each autumn.
Deep golden yellow beneath, freckled with brown, with a pair of small silver spots ringed in brown at the centre of the hindwing. The size and the depth of the colour put it among the Phoebis, and the likeliest is the Orange-barred Sulphur, a standard butterfly-house species whose female looks exactly like this from below. The Cloudless Sulphur, its commoner relative in the wild, is a cleaner lemon yellow with less marking. Not confidently separable from one frame, so it stays at genus.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
Every photograph comes with notes on what it is.
Selected
Favourite shots. Filter by subject, or .
Places
Everything, by where it was taken.
Species
Larger catalogue of photos organized by species of animal or plant.
Catalogue
Every photograph, newest first. Narrow it by period, place or species; the three work together.
Updates
Coming soon. Sign up at the bottom of the page for updates.