Colias occidentalis
Encyclopedia
The Western Sulphur or Golden Sulphur (Colias occidentalis) 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.
Wingspan is from 53 to 50 mm.
Larvae feed on Vicia
spp., Lupinus spp., Lathyrus
spp., and Thermopsis
spp.
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 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...
found in North America. Its range includes the Pacific Northwest and parts of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Flight period is from late May until early July.
Wingspan is from 53 to 50 mm.
Larvae feed on Vicia
Vicia
Vicia is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants commonly known as vetches. It is in the legume family . Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the...
spp., Lupinus spp., Lathyrus
Lathyrus
Lathyrus is a genus of flowering plant species known as sweet peas and vetchlings. Lathyrus is in the legume family Fabaceae and contains approximately 160 species. They are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 species in North America, 78 in Asia, 24 in...
spp., and Thermopsis
Thermopsis
Thermopsis is a genus of 8 to 23 species of legumes, native to temperate North America and east Asia. They are herbaceous perennials and are known as goldenbanners.-Species:* Thermopsis alpina...
spp.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.- C. o. chrysomelas H. Edwards, 1877 (California, Oregon)
- C. o. occidentalis (British Columbia, Washington, Oregon)
- C. o. sullivani Hammond & McCorkle, 2003 (Oregon)