Beautiful pictures! Sulphurs are hard. Miss Sherry would be the best one to answer because she has a lot of the different ones down there. I know the first two are orange sulphurs. Because of the possibility of orange and clouded to mate, any showing of orange classifies it as an orange sulphur (I have also read that pairings of O. sulphur and clouded are sterile. It is amazing that for these common butterflies there is not a lot of definative information out there). The third is a cloudless sulphur, (a favorite here). The last is a clouded sulphur male, note that it lacks any of the orange. Is that right Miss Sherry?

-Elisabeth

You're not a dummy - my best field guide says, "Clouded and orange sulphurs sometimes hybridize, so not all individua ls can be identified." To me, that means they're either the same species or so close they may as well be. :)
The one nectaring on the salvia is a female cloudless sulphur. I don't get clouded or orange sulphurs down here, but I feel pretty sure the first two pictures are of a female orange sulphur, and the one nectaring on the beautiful lantana is a male orange sulphur, but "he" could possibly be another female. Maybe somebody who lives in your area will know for sure.
Beautiful pictures!
Sherry

Nice pics!

I concur with Sherry on the first three. The top two pictures are definitely an orange sulphur (the orange is a giveaway) female (the black margin with holes).

The third is a classic Cloudless Sulphur -- lemon-yellow in flight, very large. I would have said "male" because the female usually has strong underside markings, but I defer to Sherry since the Cloudless actually live in her area. :)

I was going to say that the fourth is a Clouded on the basis of the double hindwing silver spot, but I wasn't able to confirm this ID key poking around.

According to this site, the Clouded has a forewing margin that sits behind the row of dots. Meanwhile, the Orange has a margin that runs over the dots -- similar to yours.

When we do counts, anything with the least tint of orange color is labeled "Orange Sulphur", with "Clouded" reserved only for the pure yellow colored individuals.

Jeff

Jeff, I made this picture the other day of two cloudless sulphurs. I always have trouble making pictures of pale butterflies, but you can see how the male on the right has zero spots - they're pure yellow. The female on the left has the spots.
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Sherry

The sulphurs used to be one of the more common butterflies in this area. Now I see fewer and fewer every year.

Bananasinohio-Thanks for the ID's!
Misssherry-I appreciate your help, as well and I would like to know just what is your "best field guide". I have Peterson's EASTERN BUTTERFLIES and am finding it very difficult to work with.
Jeff-Thanks for your input! Tips like this, if they are reliable, can be very helpful.

I am attaching another of the "sulphur" photos that was an UNKNOWN. From your information, I would suggest that this is a Cloudless Sulphur. I welcome your comments.

Bob

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I guess it's a female cloudless sulphur, Bob. I've never seen one with her wings down, but my field guide, Butterflies of North America by Brock & Kaufman shows one in that position, and they show only one spot like yours and a little bit of edging. This is my best field guide - the pictures are very detailed and make it easier to ID butterflies than any other one I've got, and I've got several.
Female cloudless sulphurs are quite variable, some of them are almost white, some are almost as bright yellow as the males, and the number of spots varies, too.
Sherry

They are certainly maddening to identify as they come in so many variations. Here is a female Orange Barred Sulphur on my Cassia with wings closed. She was the white form on top. I took this photo.

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And here is one that shows how she looked on top. I had to get this pic from the web. I raised some of the cats after she laid eggs.

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Most of the Lepidopterist societies use Kauffmans. I really like "Butterflies Through Binoculars". It is a personal choice thing. I use several guides to help and take lots of pictures when I can. So, you are on the right track!
Cheers,
Elisabeth

You've convinced me! I ordered the Kaufman book today from Amazon.

Thanks,

Bob

Bob,

Enjoyed your pictures of the Sulfurs. You can't go wrong with the Kaufman's book. If you decide to get another guide, I also like the Butterflies Through Binoculars, which contains photos of live butterflies in the field.

Sandy