Bug Wiki
Sticker of Dainty sulphur
Bug card No. 1266 of 4,939

Dainty sulphur

Nathalis iole
Eats: PlantsButterfliesGardens and meadows6 legs

The dainty sulphur is a tiny yellow butterfly with black wing tips and black bars on its wings. It is the smallest butterfly of its family in North America. It flutters very low, close to the ground.

Lives in
North America, in fields, deserts, roadsides and empty lots
Top speed
about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillar eats leaves of plants like beggar ticks, Spanish needles and chickweed.
For real!Photo of Dainty sulphur
Picture by Meganmccarty. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Butterflies that grow up in winter have more dark scales, which help them soak up the warmth of the sun.

2

It cannot survive the cold, so it flies south for the winter.

3

The boys have a small orange scent patch on their back wings.

4

If a girl says no, the boy opens his wings wide to show off his patterns.

5

Its eggs are lemon yellow or orange yellow.

you asked

Most asked questions about Dainty sulphur

?How big is the dainty sulphur?

It is the smallest butterfly of the whites and yellows family in North America.

?Where does the dainty sulphur go in winter?

It moves south, because it cannot survive the cold.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Nathalis iole
Group
Butterflies
Family
Pieridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Pieridae
Lives on
North America
Also known as
Dwarf yellow

Where the facts come from

  1. Nathalis iole (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Meganmccarty. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Butterflies

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Honey jarfor grown-ups