Clouded Sulphur

How to tell it apart

• Lemon-yellow above with a solid black border — males cleaner, females with pale spots in the border
• A white form of the female is common and is what gets called a white butterfly
• A silver-centred spot ringed in pink-red on the underside of the hindwing
• Wingspan 35–55 mm, smaller than a cabbage white
• Almost never opens its wings at rest, so the underside is what you usually see

Where you’ll find it

Across almost the whole of the United States and Canada.

Clover and alfalfa fields, roadsides, meadows, lawns and any open disturbed ground.

Spring through late autumn, in several broods.

How it behaves

It rests with its wings closed, which is why the underside markings do most of the identification work — the silver-and-pink hindwing spot is the reliable one. Females come in two forms, yellow and white, and the white form is the reason this species turns up in searches for white butterflies. Caterpillars feed on clover, alfalfa and other legumes, so the butterfly is abundant wherever those are grown.

You’ve found one indoors

Nothing. It is a pollinator with no pest status, and a lawn left with clover in it will hold them all season.

Common questions

Commonly confused with

• Cabbage White Harmless

Keep identifying

Identify another animal from a photo or return to the Butterflies guide.

Previous: Cabbage White