The Cloudless Sulphur (Phoebis sennae) is a flying American insect featured in the Grasslands Animal Pack DLC for Planet Zoo.
Zoopedia Description
General[]
Population In Wild: Unknown
The cloudless sulfur (or Phoebis sennae) is a butterfly found in temperate open areas - grasslands, parks, gardens, watercourses and seashores - of North, Central and South America. It has yellow wings with brown and/or black spots and borders. Females tend to be less vibrant than males and have yellow spots along the dark wing borders. The cloudless sulfur has a wingspan of 2.2in to 3.12in. Caterpillars of the cloudless sulfur are bright yellow or green with a yellow stripe and blue spots along each side.
Cloudless sulfurs are widespread across their range and are considered a species of Least Concern.
Social[]
The cloudless sulfur is solitary and has no social requirements. Individuals only spend time with others during the mating season.
Reproduction[]
Breeding seasons in cloudless sulphurs depend on the region, occurring year-round for warmer regions while being restricted to midsummer to autumn in colder areas. Male cloudless sulphurs patrol flower patches looking for receptive females to mate with. Should a male find one, he will land beside her and flick her wings with his legs and wings. If she accepts his advances, they will mate by facing away from each other and joining their abdomens.
Shortly after the mating event, she will lay her eggs one by one with a single egg per leaf. Eggs hatch after 6 days. The caterpillars feed on senna plants for a period of 14 to 30 days before beginning to spin a chrysalis.
Cloudless sulphurs pupate in the chrysalis for 10 to 14 days and then emerge as an adult butterfly. Depending on the time of year during emergence, adult butterflies may either look for a mate, or search for a place to hibernate. Cloudless sulphurs die after mating, meaning those who hibernate before reproducing may live up to 9 months.
Animal Care[]
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Trivia[]
Zoopedia Fun Facts[]
- The cloudless sulphur is a migratory butterfly, with populations from the USA often travelling to Mexico or the Caribbean to overwinter.
- When migrating, the cloudless sulphur can travel 20km a day.
- The cloudless sulphur is often observed feeding from mud; it is thought that this may be a source of salt for the butterfly.
- The chrysalis of the cloudless sulphur looks like a leaf, and the pupa inside will wriggle when touched to scare off predators.
- The egg of the cloudless sulphur is pure white when first laid, but becomes yellow-orange as it approaches hatching time.