Butterflies of North Carolina

Common Name begins with:
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Scientific Name begins with:
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Once on a species account page, clicking on the "View PDF" link will show the flight data for that species, for each of the three regions of the state.
Other information, such as high counts and earliest/latest dates, can also been seen on the PDF page.

Related Species in PIERIDAE:
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Common Name

Falcate Orangetip by Betty Anderson => WB Umstead, 2004-03-29
[View PDF]

Click to enlarge
[Google Images] GBIF [Global Distribution ] BoA [Images ] iNaturalist

Scientific Name

Anthocharis midea

Link to BAMONA species account.

Map

Click on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.

Distribution

DISTRIBUTION: Occurs in all three provinces and is nearly statewide in occurrence. In the Mountains found mostly in the lower elevations, and possibly absent in a few northern Mountain counties (such as Avery and Mitchell). It is spottily distributed near the coast and is possibly absent in a few such counties.

Abundance

ABUNDANCE: Common, at least locally, in many Piedmont and upper Coastal Plain locales; not common in the Mountains or much of the lower Coastal Plain. Very rare to absent above perhaps 2500 feet elevation.

Flight

FLIGHT PERIOD: Single-brooded; early March (rarely mid-February) to late April downstate; mainly from mid- or late March to early May, and rarely into late May, in the Mountains. Peaks in late March and early April in the Piedmont, and in late March in the Coastal Plain.

Habitat

HABITAT: Typically mesic to moist hardwoods or mixed woods, including bottomlands, but it can often be seen along woodland borders and in woodland openings. It is not usually seen in large open fields or urban and suburban habitats.

See also Habitat Account for Rich Wet-Mesic Hardwood Forests

Plants

FOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: As with other species of "whites", mustard family species (Brassicaceae) are the foodplants; toothworts (Cardamine spp.) are probably the primary species in NC. Females are often seen ovipositing on the small, non-native Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta). These butterflies often nectar on toothworts, but other spring-blooming flowers are used.

Comments

COMMENTS: As with most single-brooded species with narrow flight periods, some gaps in the county distribution maps exist. This is simply a matter of lack of coverage during the (20-30)-day flight period in any given area, as the species is not usually difficult to find in the appropriate habitat. The range, however, is not well known in parts of the Mountains, where it definitely occurs at low elevations (below 2500 feet); perhaps the West Virginia White replaces this species in the middle and high elevations. Oddly, it seems extremely scarce in Swain County, where an abundance of rich hardwood forests below 2500 feet elevation are present in Great Smoky Mountains National Park; a first record came in 2021. Apparently, the species is displaced there by the West Virginia White, even at rather low elevations.

This species is one of the harbingers of spring, often encountered when an observer is looking for spring wildflowers along Piedmont or Coastal Plain slopes and bottomlands.

State Rank

State Status

Global Rank

G4G5 [G5]

Federal Status

Synonym

Paramidea midea

Other Name

Links to other butterfly galleries: [Cook] [Lynch] [Pippen] [Pugh]
Photo Gallery for Falcate Orangetip
	Photo by: Sam Bland Comment: Hammocks Beach State Park, Onslow Co.; 2005-Apr-05, male Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Jessie Summers Comment: Raven Rock State Park, Harnett Co. 2008-Apr-09. Female signaling male. Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Richard Stickney Comment: Wake Co., March 2020 Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Will Stuart Comment: March 11, 2020. Chester County, SC; female ovipositing Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: John Ennis Comment: Ev-Henwood Nature Preserve, Brunswick County. 2012-March-11; male Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Comment: Apr 3, 2011. West Branch Preserve, Mecklenburg Co.; female Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Rob Van Epps Comment: Mar 18, 2006, Mecklenburg Co. Male Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Jeff Pippen Comment: Male. Gates Co., NC 13 Apr 2007 Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: W. Cook Comment: Male, Durham Co., NC; 22 March 2003 Falcate Orangetip - Click to enlarge