Colias
Encyclopedia
Colias is a genus
of butterflies
in the family
Pieridae
. They are usually called clouded yellows; the North America
n name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae
in general. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene
, which is sometimes included in Colias.
This genus occurs throughout the Holarctic
, including the arctic
regions. They are also found in Africa
, China
and India
. Their caterpillar
s feed on certain Fabaceae
, for example vetches (Vicia). While most are thus beneficial by keeping weed
s at bay, some occasionally become nuisance pests on crops like alfalfa
. In some species, the wings of males have brilliant ultraviolet
reflection, while those of females do not.
Most if not all species of this genus, as usual for Coliadinae, do not sequester toxin
s or other noxious compounds from their food plants. They are therefore a well-loved prey item of insectivore
s as compared to Pieris of the related Pierinae
. They make up this disadvantage by being more nimble and better able to evade attacks by would-be predators.
Notable lepidopterologists who did many studies on this genus included J. Malcolm Fawcett
, George B. Johnson
and Henry Rowland-Brown
.
) cannot be considered reliable. Regardless, the evolution
ary distance within some "species" is so large that cryptic speciation rather than (or in addition to) interbreeding seems to be the cause. For example, the Beringian populations traditionally assigned to the Northern Clouded Yellow (C. hecla
) could warrant recognition as a species; hybridization between North American and Asian populations seems to have played a role in their evolution, but as a whole they appear to be a rather old and distinct lineage.
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Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pieridae
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow or orange in coloration, often with black spots...
. They are usually called clouded yellows; the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae
Coliadinae
Coliadinae, the sulfurs, sulphurs, or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species.There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada...
in general. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene
Zerene
Zerene is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae commonly called dogfaces. The closest living relative is the genus Colias.-Species:* Zerene cesonia – Southern Dogface...
, which is sometimes included in Colias.
Holarctic
The Holarctic ecozone refers to the habitats found throughout the northern continents of the world as a whole. This region is divided into the Palearctic, consisting of Northern Africa and all of Eurasia, with the exception of Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, and the Nearctic,...
, including the arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
regions. They are also found in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Their caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s feed on certain Fabaceae
Fabaceae
The Fabaceae or Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume, pea, or bean family, is a large and economically important family of flowering plants. The group is the third largest land plant family, behind only the Orchidaceae and Asteraceae, with 730 genera and over 19,400 species...
, for example vetches (Vicia). While most are thus beneficial by keeping weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s at bay, some occasionally become nuisance pests on crops like alfalfa
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae cultivated as an important forage crop in the US, Canada, Argentina, France, Australia, the Middle East, South Africa, and many other countries. It is known as lucerne in the UK, France, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, and known as...
. In some species, the wings of males have brilliant ultraviolet
Ultraviolet
Ultraviolet light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays, in the range 10 nm to 400 nm, and energies from 3 eV to 124 eV...
reflection, while those of females do not.
Most if not all species of this genus, as usual for Coliadinae, do not sequester toxin
Toxin
A toxin is a poisonous substance produced within living cells or organisms; man-made substances created by artificial processes are thus excluded...
s or other noxious compounds from their food plants. They are therefore a well-loved prey item of insectivore
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
s as compared to Pieris of the related Pierinae
Pierinae
The Pierinae are a large subfamily of Pierid butterflies. The subfamily is one of several clades of butterflies often referred to as the Whites...
. They make up this disadvantage by being more nimble and better able to evade attacks by would-be predators.
Notable lepidopterologists who did many studies on this genus included J. Malcolm Fawcett
J. Malcolm Fawcett
J. Malcolm Fawcett was an English ? entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera.His collection of African moths was acquired by Walter Rothschild for his museum at Tring and are now in the Natural History Museum in London...
, George B. Johnson
George B. Johnson
Dr George B. Johnson is a science writer who wrote the weekly column "On Science" in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He is also a biology professor at Washington University and a genetics professor at their school of medicine.-Education:Johnson got his B.A. in English from Dartmouth College in 1964...
and Henry Rowland-Brown
Henry Rowland-Brown
Henry Rowland-Brown was an English entomologist who specialised in LepidopteraBy profession Rowland-Brown was a journalist and author. He wrote The distribution and variation of Coenonympha tullia in the UK...
.
Systematics
Hybridization runs rampant in these butterflies, confounding molecular phylogenetics studies. In general, cladistic analyses of only one type of data (particularly mtDNA sequencesDNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
) cannot be considered reliable. Regardless, the evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary distance within some "species" is so large that cryptic speciation rather than (or in addition to) interbreeding seems to be the cause. For example, the Beringian populations traditionally assigned to the Northern Clouded Yellow (C. hecla
Colias hecla
The Northern Clouded Yellow or Hecla Sulphur is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. In Europe, it is found in the northern part of Norway, Sweden and Finland up to heights of 900 m. It is also found in Greenland, Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Quebec, Labrador, Manitoba, the Chukot...
) could warrant recognition as a species; hybridization between North American and Asian populations seems to have played a role in their evolution, but as a whole they appear to be a rather old and distinct lineage.
Species
Listed alphabetically.- Colias adelaidae Verhulst, 1991
- Colias aegidii Verhulst, 1990
- Colias aias Fruhstorfer, 1903
- Colias alexandraColias alexandraThe Queen Alexandra's Sulphur, Alexandra Sulphur, or Ultraviolet Sulfur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America...
W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Queen Alexandra's Sulphur, Alexandra Sulfur, or Ultraviolet Sulfur - Colias alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905
- Colias alpherakii Staudinger, 1882
- Colias alta Staudinger, 1886
- Colias aquilonaris Grum-Grshimailo, 1899
- Colias arida Alphéraky, 1889
- Colias audre (Hemming, 1933)
- Colias aurorinaColias aurorinaThe Greek Clouded Butterfly or Dawn Clouded Yellow, Colias aurorina, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Central Greece, the Near East and the Caucasus area. It is rare in former Yugoslavia....
Herrich-Schäffer, 1850 – Dawn Clouded Yellow - Colias baeckeri Kotzsch, 1930
- Colias balcanica Rebel, 1901
- Colias behriiColias behriiColias behrii, the Behr's Sulphur or Sierra Green Sulfur, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is endemic to California's Sierra Nevada from Tuolumne County south to Tulare County....
W. H. Edwards, 1866 – Behr's Sulphur or Sierra Green Sulfur - Colias beryllaColias beryllaEverest Clouded Yellow, Colias berylla is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
Fawcett, 1904 – Everest Clouded Yellow - Colias boothi Curtis, 1835 – Arctic Green Sulfur
- Colias canadensisColias canadensisThe Canada Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. It has only been found from Alaska and Northwest Territories, to northern British Columbia and Alberta.Flight period is early May to early August....
Ferris, 1982 – Canada Sulphur - Colias caucasica Staudinger, 1871 - Balkan Clouded Yellow
- Colias chippewaColias chippewaThe Heath Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America and northeastern Asia. Its range includes Alaska across northern Canada, including all the territories, and as far east as Labrador....
W. H. Edwards, 1872 – Heath Sulphur - Colias chlorocoma Christoph, 1888
- Colias christinaColias christinaThe Christina Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes the Yukon and Northwest Territories south through British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan to Wyoming, Montana, and Utah....
W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Christina Sulphur - Colias christophi Grum-Grshimailo, 1885
- Colias chrysotheme (Esper, 1781) – Lesser Clouded Yellow
- Colias cocandica Erschoff, 1874
- Colias croceus (Geoffroy, 1785) – Dark Clouded Yellow or Common Clouded Yellow
- Colias dimeraColias dimeraColias dimera, the Dimera Sulphur, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found in Venezuela, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.The wingspan is . There are two female forms: one is similar to the males, while the other is yellowish/greenish white....
Doubleday, 1847 - Colias diva Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
- Colias dubiaColias dubiaDwarf Clouded Yellow, Colias dubia is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
Fawcett, 1906 – Dwarf Clouded Yellow - Colias electoColias electoColias electo, the African Clouded Yellow or Lucerne Butterfly, is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, as well as Arabia. The wingspan is for males and for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August...
(Linnaeus, 1763) – African Clouded Yellow - Colias elis Strecker, 1885 (often included in C. meadii; paraphyletic?)
- Colias eogeneColias eogeneFiery Clouded Yellow, Colias eogene is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
C. & R. Felder, 1865 – Fiery Clouded Yellow - Colias erateColias erateThe Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from South-eastern Europe, through Turkey over Central Asia up to Japan and Taiwan. South, its range stretches to Somalia and Ethiopia....
(Esper, 1805) – Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow - Colias erschoffi Alphéraky, 1881
- Colias eurytheme Boisduval, 1852 – Orange Sulphur, Alfalfa Butterfly
- Colias euxanthe C. & R. Felder, 1865
- Colias felderi Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
- Colias fieldii Ménétriés, 1855 (sometimes included in C. electo)
- Colias flaveola Blanchard, 1852
- Colias giganteaColias giganteaThe Giant Sulphur or Giant Northern Sulfur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes Alaska across Canada to the east coast and Wyoming, Montana, and Oregon....
Strecker, 1900 – Great (Northern) Sulphur - Colias grumi Alpheraky
- Colias harfordiiColias harfordiiColias harfordii, Harford's Sulphur, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from the southern California coastal ranges and canyons from Kern County south to San Diego County. The habitat consists of open chaparral and woodland clearings....
W. H. Edwards, 1877 - Colias heclaColias heclaThe Northern Clouded Yellow or Hecla Sulphur is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. In Europe, it is found in the northern part of Norway, Sweden and Finland up to heights of 900 m. It is also found in Greenland, Alaska, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Quebec, Labrador, Manitoba, the Chukot...
Lefèbvre, 1836 – Northern Clouded Yellow, Greenland Sulphur, or Hecla Sulphur (paraphyletic?) - Colias heos (Herbst, 1792)
- Colias hofmannorum Eckweiler, 2000
- Colias hyale (Linnaeus, 1758) – Pale Clouded YellowPale Clouded YellowPale Clouded Yellow is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in most of Europe and large parts of Asia.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
- Colias hyperborea Grum-Grshimailo, 1899
- Colias interiorColias interiorThe Pink-edged sulphur is a species of North American butterfly in the Pieridae family.-Life cycle:There is one flight between June to August. The adult female lays eggs on blueberry plants.-References:...
Scudder, 1862 – Pink-edged Sulphur - Colias johanseniColias johanseniThe Johansen's Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. It has only been found in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada.Flight period is July.Wingspan is from 35 to 38 mm....
Troubridge & Philip, 1990 – Johansen's Sulphur - Colias krauthii Klots, 1935
- Colias lada Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
- Colias ladakensisColias ladakensisLadakh Clouded Yellow, Colias ladakensis is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
Felder & Felder, 1865 – Ladakh Clouded Yellow - Colias leechi Grum-Grshimailio, 1893
- Colias lesbia (Fabricius, 1775)
- Colias libanotica Lederer, 1858 (sometimes included in C. aurorina)
- Colias marcopolo Grum-Grshimailo, 1888
- Colias marnoana Rogenhofer, 1884
- Colias meadiiColias meadiiThe Mead's Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the USA.Flight period is from July to August.Wingspan is from 35 to 44 mm....
W. H. Edwards, 1871 – Mead's Sulphur - Colias minisni Bean, 1895
- Colias montium Oberthür, 1886
- Colias mukana Berger, 1981
- Colias myrmidoneColias myrmidoneThe Danube Clouded Yellow is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Western Asia, through Southern Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary up to Austria and the Jura mountains near Regensburg in Germany.The wingspan is 44-50 mm...
(Esper, 1781) – Danube Clouded Yellow - Colias nastesColias nastesThe Labrador Sulphur is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. In Europe, it is found in the North of Norway and Sweden and on rare occasions in Northern Finland. It is also found in North America, specifically in Alaska, Canada, and the Rocky Mountains, Washington, Montana and on Greenland...
Boisduval, 1834 – Labrador Sulphur - Colias nebulosa Oberthür, 1894
- Colias nilagiriensis Felder, C & R Felder, 1859
- Colias ninaColias ninaFawcett's Clouded Yellow, Colias nina is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
Fawcett, 1904 – Fawcett's Clouded Yellow - Colias occidentalisColias occidentalisThe Western Sulphur or Golden Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes the Pacific Northwest and parts of British Columbia.Flight period is from late May until early July....
Scudder, 1862 – Western Sulphur or Golden Sulfur - Colias palaenoColias palaenoThe Moorland Clouded Yellow, Palaeno Sulphur, or Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. As most Colias-species, it is an avid flyer. Though the species is normally restricted to the habitats, occasionally it is found far from suitable breeding grounds...
(Linnaeus, 1761) – Moorland Clouded Yellow, Arctic Sulphur, or Palaeno Sulphur - Colias pelidneColias pelidneThe Pelidne Sulphur or Blueberry Sulphur is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. Its range includes British Columbia across Canada as far east as Newfoundland and south to Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming....
Boisduval & Le Conte, 1829 – Blueberry Sulphur or Pelidne Sulphur - Colias phicomoneColias phicomoneThe Mountain Clouded Yellow is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian Mountains and the Alps. It flies at altitudes of 900 to 2800 meter....
(Esper, 1780) – Mountain Clouded Yellow - Colias philodiceColias philodiceThe Common or Clouded Sulphur is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.-Description:...
Godart, 1819 – Common Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur - Colias poliographus Motschulsky, 1861
- Colias ponteniColias ponteniColias ponteni is a butterfly in the Pieridae family.Colias ponteni was described from the Sandwich Inseln and Colias imperialis from Port Famine , although there is serious doubt about these locations. Currently though, this species does not exist either in Hawaii or Patagonia...
Wallengren, 1860 - Colias pseudochristina Ferris, 1989
- Colias regia Grum-Grshimailo, 1887
- Colias romanovi Grum-Grshimailo, 1885
- Colias sagartia Lederer, 1869
- Colias sareptensis Staudinger, 1871 – Berger's Clouded Yellow
- Colias scudderiiColias scudderiiColias scudderii, the Willow Sulphur, is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Alaska south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico. The habitat consists of mountain meadows and willow bogs....
Reakirt, 1865 – Willow Sulphur - Colias shahfuladi Clench & Shoumatoff, 1956
- Colias sieversi Grum-Grshimailo, 1887
- Colias sifanica Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
- Colias staudingeri Alphéraky, 1881
- Colias stoliczkana Moore, 1882 – Orange Clouded Yellow
- Colias tamerlana Staudinger, 1897
- Colias thisoaColias thisoaColias thisoa is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found in the mountains of the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, central Asia, southern Siberia, Turkey and Iran...
Ménétriés, 1832 - Colias thrasibulusColias thrasibulusLemon Clouded Yellow, Colias thrasibulus is a small butterfly of the Family Pieridae, that is, the Yellows and Whites, which is found in India.-References:* Evans, W.H. The Identification of Indian Butterflies...
Fruhstorfer, 1908 – Lemon Clouded Yellow - Colias thula Hovanitz, 1955 – Thula Sulphur
- Colias tibetana Riley, 1922
- Colias tycheColias tycheThe Booth's Sulphur or Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found from Baffin Island west along the Hudson Bay and arctic coasts of the Nunavut and Northwest Territories mainland and the southern tier of Arctic Islands to northern Yukon, Alaska, and Eurasia.The...
(Böber, 1812) – Pale Arctic Clouded Yellow or Booth's Sulphur - Colias viluiensis (Ménétriés, 1859)
- Colias wanda Grum-Grshimaïlo, 1907
- Colias wiskottiColias wiskottiColias wiskotti is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found in Turkestan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tadzikhistan, Kashmir. The habitat consists of xerophytic mountains.It is a highly polymorphous species with a lot of varieties or forms described...
Staudinger, 1882
External links
- Rusinsects Photos and text relating to Palaearctic species