Kip’s Comments - September 24, 2025

Short, Busy Life Span

This common butterfly - the orange Sulphur butterfly -is probably an overlooked butterfly. They are not extremely flashy, tend to appear to be very common, and just don’t often draw our attention.

Today I noticed several feeding on New England Aster blossoms in our prairie area. It was time to grab my camera.

Orange Sulphur Butterfly on New England Aster - Image 1028911

Adult orange Sulphur butterflies are short-lived creatures. Most flutter about for 2-4 weeks. During those few weeks though the butterflies are active pollinators and busy mating. An adult female may lay 700-1000 eggs.

I was curious about whether orange Sulphur butterflies migrate or not. According to the data I found, inter-continental migration is minimal at best. There is movement in regional areas that tends to be influenced by weather and habitat.

Now you know a little about orange Sulphur butterflies. See if you can find some while it is still warm out and the little butterflies are visiting the last blooming wildflowers.