Bicolored Sallow

Fascinating facts about the Bicolored Sallow

• The Bicolored Sallow stretches a wingspan of 28-38 mm, its forewings ranging from pale straw-yellow to deep orange-yellow with a distinctive series of black dots along the post-medial line and a continuous subterminal line from inner margin to costa. Those precise markings let lepidopterists separate it from its look-alike Sunira verberata, whose hind wing differs.
• Sunira bicolorago first entered science in 1852 when Guenée described it under the genus Xanthia, later moving it to Sunira, a name some experts still nest inside Agrochola.
• You'll find the Bicolored Sallow across the eastern half of the United States, sparing only southern Florida, and in every Canadian province.
• Adults take to the night lights from August through December in the south and September to November up north.
• Caterpillars of Sunira bicolorago are voracious eaters, munching on a menu that includes cabbage, cherry, crabapple, dock, elm, grass, maple, peach, plum, oak, tobacco and willow.

At a glance

About the Bicolored Sallow

In the whispering hours of dawn, the Bicolored Sallow unfurls its delicate wings, a masterful canvas of umber and cream, as it takes to the dewy air with a gentle, lilting flight. With an almost ethereal quality, it dances among the tall grasses, its proboscis uncoiling like a tentative finger to sip the sweetness from each blossoming flower. As it flits, the Bicolored Sallow leaves in its wake a trail of subtle wonder, a fleeting glimpse of beauty that belies the resilience of this enchanting, yet enigmatic creature.

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