Butterflies, Moths, Dragonflies & Damselflies of Dayton, Ohio

Sleepy Orange butterflies are visitors to Ohio. They are slightly smaller than our much more common Orange Sulphurs. Sleepy Oranges also have a different shape. Sleepy Orange butterflies are more pointed/ elongated. They often have large brown patches on their wings, but this feature is variable.

Little Yellow butterflies (aka Little Sulphurs) are also visitors to our state. They are uncommon in most years. The individual at left was photographed at Sweet Arrow Reserve in Bellbrook.

This is a Dainty Sulphur butterfly. These tiny butterflies are even smaller than Little Yellows, and they are much less common in Ohio. Dainty Sulphurs are the size of a small skipper butterfly. Their lemon-yellow wings have an orange streak along the upper edge. Their wings also have faint grayish scaling and a few small black spots shaped like teardrops. 

Sleepy Orange butterflies can be distinguished from Orange Sulphurs by their smaller size. They also have more of a burnt orange color when seen in flight. 

Little Yellow butterflies are clear lemon yellow in color, like Clouded Sulphurs, but they are much smaller. Little Yellows usually have a small brown dot near the edge of the hindwing. 

This Sleepy Orange was photographed on November 5, 2017. This butterfly had found what was probably the last clover in bloom on the Cox Arboretum prairie. I spent some time watching this butterfly, and he always returned to this one clover blossom, his lifeline to nectar. 

This Little Yellow was sipping nectar from a tiny aster flower. These butterflies are scarce or absent in some years, but they can be numerous if we get a good year for migratory butterflies. 

This Sleepy Orange does not have a noticeable brown patch, unlike the individual above. Sleepy Oranges are fairly uncommon in some years, but they can be more common in years with favorable weather patterns. I have seen these butterflies from late May through early November, but they are more likely to turn up in late summer and fall. 

Dainty Sulphurs are rare strays from the south. 2012 was the last year when Ohio saw a large invasion of this species. After that came a seven-year drought for me. I finally got the chance to see Dainty Sulphurs again in 2019. I saw one individual in Miamisburg in July 2019, and another solitary individual at Oakes Quarry in Fairborn on August 31, 2019. Then, I found two good colonies of Dainty Sulphurs along the Great Miami River near Middletown, in October 2019. 

If we ever get another big year like 2012, Dainty Sulphurs could turn up anywhere. Until then, you will probably have the best luck looking for migrants along riverways, like the Great Miami. In 2024, there was a good population at Otto Armleder Park near Cincinnati. These butterflies prefer habitat that was wet earlier in the year but dries up in late summer and fall. Dainty Sulphurs always stay low to the ground. They prefer areas where the ground is mostly bare except for low-growing carpets of weeds. 

Sleepy Orange butterflies use wild senna and partridge peas as host plants. These butterflies are most numerous in areas where their host plants are common, such as the Caesar Creek Wildlife Area. 

Sleepy Orange in flight, photographed at Cox Arboretum. 

Little Yellow butterfly in flight. Photographed September 10, 2022, at Miamisburg. 

Little Yellows are typically found in late summer and fall. I have seen them from June through October, but they are more likely to turn up later in the season. 

Another rare look at a Sleepy Orange with its wings open for a change!