Sulphur butterflies are large and tempting targets for my camera, yet they are surprisingly elusive. Therefore, I was excited to discover one landing repeatedly on a row of Christmas cassia bushes -- and thrilled once I realized that the butterfly was depositing eggs on the plant.
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| An orange-barred sulphur butterfly (Phoebis philea) laying eggs on a Christmas cassia (Senna bicapsularis). |
Even when laying eggs, the butterfly did not remain still for long, but at least it was long enough for me to get close and take a good look. Then, after the butterfly had visited a few different spots on the bushes, it departed.
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| The sulphur flying off. Some herbivore damage is visible on the leaves, but I didn't find any caterpillars feeding there. |
Once the butterfly had moved on, I turned my attention to finding the eggs it had laid and any caterpillars that might have already hatched from previous clutches. I found a couple of eggs on the tips of young leaves.
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| A recently laid sulphur butterfly egg. |
However, the leaves were not where I found an orange-barred sulphur caterpillar feeding. To be continued...
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