Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A small, bright lemon-yellow butterfly common across the southeastern and eastern United States, often seen fluttering low over open fields, roadsides, and gardens. Its caterpillars feed on partridge pea and other legumes, and adults migrate northward each summer before dying off with the first frost.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2. 2.
   caterpillar

   A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3. 3.
   chrysalis

   A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4. 4.
   butterfly

   A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

• View on iNaturalist →

Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Pieridae

Genus

Eurema

Species

Eurema lisa