16. Another group of butterflies are the Whites and Sulfurs of the Pieridae family. The large (Phoebis) sulphurs and the varieties of smaller (Eurema) sulphur species. these butterflies are yellow or orange colors, with males having crisp black margins. All of these larvae, and velvety green caterpillars feed on the Cassia plants along roadsides and in fields.
!7. The Giant Yellow Sulphurs (Phoebis eubule sennae) in September and October, migrate from northern Florida, into Southern Florida, to survive the winter months.
18. The tiny Hermes Satyr, (Euptychlia hermes), are found everywhere in Florida, as in many areas in the eastern seaboard forests of the U.S., and also in Central and South America, in tropical rain forests and mountain habitats. It seems that the adults are able to winter over and reproduce again in the spring. The majority have to spend the winter months in the egg or pupal stages of their lifecycle, in order to survive.
19. Giant Skippers, (Megathymidae), are part of the above species, the larvae burrows into the stems and roots of the Yucca or Agave plants during the summer and stay till the following spring.
If you want to keep butterflies as pets, then you need to know the areas to look for the caterpillars or butterflies in order to collect them. And in caring for them it works best if you can provide their native natural food sources.
If you are planting a natural butterfly garden some favorites of these beautiful winged creatures are goldenrod and ragwort, fleabane and thistle, Joe-Pye Weed and ironweed, asters and blazing star, palafoxia and pennyroyals, Spanish Needle or Beggers Tick, which is a very noxious weed but it does attact many butterflies. Also milkweed or Butterfly Bush, which attacts the Monarch butterfly.
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