Sleepy Orange

Sleepy Orange (Eurema nicippe) is a diminutive and abundant Florida butterfly in the sulphur family. The adults are brilliant orange-yellow with black margins on their wing edges and a black eyespot on their forewing. These tiny butterflies can often be found in the margins of roadways along with several of the grass skippers, Phaon crescents and Checkered White butterflies.

The larvae host on various members of the Cassia family but the ones onsite at MOSI seem to prefer Candlestick Cassias (Cassia alata), Sicklepod Cassias (Cassia obtusifolia) and Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata). The larvae are easily distinguished from other sulphur caterpillars by their pale green color, tiny hairs and the white racing stripe that runs the length of their bodies.

The members of this species spend their winters as adult butterflies by using warmer days to find food and hibernating on cooler days. The mottled underside of their wings provides excellent camouflage and these butterflies are very hard to spot when sitting still.