Salome Yellow (Eurema salome [C. Felder])
Wing span: 1 7/8 - 2 1/4 inches (4.7 - 5.7 cm).
Identification: Wings yellow, upper surface of forewings with black margins projecting into yellow ground. Male has black border on hindwings, female is lacking border. Both sexes with tail-like hindwing projections.
Life history: None reported.
Flight: August-September in South Texas, all year in tropics.
Caterpillar hosts: Diphysa in the pea family (Fabaceae).
Adult food: Nectar from a wide variety of flowers.
Habitat: Forest openings and edges; roadcuts.
Range: Peru northward through tropical America; extremely rare migrant to lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas.
Conservation: Not required for rare vagrant.
Management needs: None reported.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
References:
DeVries, P. J. 1987. The butterflies of Costa Rica and their natural history. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 327 pages, 50 color plates. Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates. Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates. Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Neck, R.W. 1996. A Field Guide to Butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co., Houston, Texas. Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. Privately published, Denver, Colo. Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. Tveten, J. and Tveten, G. 1996. Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas. Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, TX. 292 pp.