California Gardens - The Year Round Gardening Site

Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly * Phoebis sennae

The Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly is native to the Southern part of the US East and West Coast. Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly is one of the larger yellow Sulfur Butterflies with wingspans of 2-3". The Cloudless Sulfur Butterfly is often very busy in the garden rarely seeming to rest. The caterpillar host is the Senna or Cassia. The adult Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly feed on a wide variety of tubular flowers, see the list below. The male is mostly yellow with the pairs of patches. The femaile more variable in color from white to yellow with a dark wing margin. The Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly is a common visitor to the butterfly garden. The Cloudless Sulphur Butterflies were steady visitors to the flowers of this planting of Justicia leonardii.

Cloudless Sulphur Male

A male Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly on Justicia leonardii. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Cloudless Sulphur Female

A female Cloudless Sulphur Butterfly on Justicia leonardii. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Cloudless Sulphur Caterpillar

A female Cloudless Sulphur Caterpillar crossing the road I don't know why. High resolution photos are part of our garden image collection.

Plants to attract the Cloudless Sulphur to your garden:
Anthemis tinctoria * Dyer's Chamomile, Golden Marguerite
Arbutus Marina * Marina Strawberry Tree
Arbutus unedo * Strawberry Tree
Arctostaphylos edmundsii Danville
Arctostaphylos edmundsii Little Sur
Arctostaphylos Howard McMinn
Arctostaphylos insularis
Arctostaphylos John Dourley
Arctostaphylos Lester Rowntree
Arctostaphylos Pacific Mist
Argyranthemum Chelsea Girl
Argyranthemum Madeira Cherry Red
Argyranthemum Silver Lady
Aster chilensis
Aster Chilensis Purple Haze * Purple Haze California Aster, Purple Haze Pacific Aster
Beloperone californica
Beloperone californica Tecate Gold
Bougainvillea Barbara Karst
Bougainvillea Flame
Bougainvillea Rosenka
Caesalpinia californica
Caesalpinia gilliesii
Caesalpinia pulcherrima
Calliandra californica
Calliandra eriophylla
Calliandra haematocephala
Calliandra haematocephala alba
Calliandra tweedii
Cassia artemisioides (host food)
Cassia leptophylla (host food)
Cassia purpusii (host food)
Centaurea gymnocarpa
Centaurea montana
Cirsium occidentale
Convolvulus sabatius
Dicliptera suberecta
Duranta erecta
Encelia californica * Coast Sunflower
Encelia californica El Dorado * El Dorado Brittle Bush
Encelia californica Paleo Yellow
Encelia farinosa
Encelia ventorum * Baja Bush Sunflower
Erigeron argentatus * Silver Fleabane
Erigeron blochmaniae * Blochman's Erigeron
Erigeron foliosus foliosus * Leafy Fleabane, Hartweg's Fleabane
Erigeron glaucus Bountiful * Bountiful Seaside Daisy
Erigeron glaucus Cape Sebastian * Cape Sebastian Seaside Daisy
Erigeron glaucus Sea Breeze * Pink Seaside Daisy, Sea Breeze Seaside Daisy
Erigeron glaucus Wayne Roderick * Wayne Roderick Seaside Daisy
Erigeron glaucus White Lights * White Lights Seaside Daisy
Erigeron karvinskianus * Mexican Daisy, Santa Barbara Daisy
Erigeron speciosus * Aspen Fleabane, Showy Fleabane, Oregon Fleabane
Evolvulus nuttallianus
Grindelia camporum * Great Valley Gumweed, Great Valley Gumplant
Grindelia stricta * Coast Gumweed, Coast Gumplant
Hibiscus lasiocarpos
Hibiscus sabdariffa
Justicia californica
Justicia californica Tecate Gold
Justicia Fruit Salad
Justicia fulvicoma * Mexican Plume
Justicia Jambalaya * Dwarf Shrip Plant
Justicia leonardii * Orange Justicia
Justicia rizzinii
Justicia suberecta
Lantana Luscious Citrus Blend
Lantana variegata Lemon Swirl
Lavandula dentata, Lavandula dentata candicans
Lavandula Fred Boutin
Lavandula Goodwin Creek Grey
Lavandula Grosso
Lavandula heterophylla
Lavandula multifida
Lavandula pinnata buchii
Lavandula Provence
Lavatera assurgentiflora
Lavatera bicolor
Lavatera purisima
Leonotis menthifolia
Lepechinia calycina * White Pitcher Sage, California Pitcher Sage, Woodbalm
Lepechinia fragrans El Tigre * Island Pitcher Sage
Lepechinia hastata * Mexican Pitcher Sage
Lepechinia salviae * Chilean Pitcher Sage
Lessingia filaginafolia * California Aster
Lobelia cardinalis * Cardinal Flower
Lobelia excelsa * Devil's Tobacco
Lobelia laxifolia * Mexican Lobelia
Lotus crassifolius otayensis * Otay Mountain Lotus
Lotus scoparius * Deerweed
Malacothamnus clementinus * San Clemente Bush Mallow
Malacothamnus davidsonii * Davidson's Bush Mallow
Malacothamnus densiflorus * Yellow Stem Bush Mallow
Malacothamnus fasciculatus * Chaparral Bush Mallow
Monardella lanceolata
Monardella odoratissima
Pavonia missionum
Pavonia praemorsa
Pentas lanceolata
Pentas Pearl White
Rudbeckia Tiger Eye
Ruellia brittoniana
Salvia Allen Chickering * Allen Chickering Sage
Salvia apiana * White Sage
Salvia brandegeei * Brandegee's Sage, Santa Rosa Island Sage
Salvia carduacea * Thistle Sage
Salvia Celestial Blue * Celestial Blue Sage
Salvia chionopeplica * Baja Sage
Salvia clevelandii * Cleveland Sage
Salvia coahuilensis * Coahuila Sage
Salvia Desperado * Desperado Sage
Salvia dorrii * Purple Desert Sage
Salvia leucantha * Mexican Sage
Salvia leucantha Danielle's Dream
Salvia leucantha Midnight
Salvia leucantha Santa Barbara
Salvia leucophylla * Purple Sage
Salvia mellifera * Black Sage
Salvia mellifera Green Carpet * Green Carpet Creeping Sage
Salvia mellifera Skylark * Skylark Sage
Salvia mellifera Terra Seca * Dwarf Black Sage
Salvia munzii * San Diego Sage, Munz's Sage
Salvia munzii Emerald Cascade * San Miguel Mountain Sage, Munz's Sage
Salvia officinalis Tricolor * Tricolored Culinary Sage
Salvia Pozo Blue * Grey Musk Sage
Salvia sonomensis Dara's Choice * Dara's Choice Creeping Sage
Salvia sonomensis Green Carpet * Green Carpet Creeping Sage
Salvia sonomensis Mrs Beard * Mrs Beard Creeping Sage
Salvia spathacea * Hummingbird Sage
Salvia Winnifred Gilman * Blue Sage
Senna artemesioides (host food) * Silver Cassia
Senna purpusii (host food) * Baja California Senna
Symphyotrichum chilense
Tetraneuris acaulis * Angelita Daisy, Stemless Four Nerve Daisy
Trichostema lanatum
Trichostema Midnight Magic
Venegasia carpesioides