Colias

Last updated

Clouded yellows
(MHNT) Colias hyale - Novy Jicin Moravie Czech Republic - male dorsal.jpg
Colias hyale – type species for the genus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Tribe: Coliadini
Genus: Colias
Fabricius, 1807
Type species
Papilio hyale
Synonyms
  • EurymusHorsfield, [1829]
  • GanuraZetterstedt, [1839]
  • ScalidoneuraButler, 1871
  • EriocoliasWatson, 1895
  • ColiastesHemming, 1931
  • ProtocoliasPetersen, 1963 [2]
  • MesocoliasPetersen, 1963
  • NeocoliasBerger, 1986 [3]
  • PalaeocoliasBerger, 1986
  • EucoliasBerger, 1986
  • SimilicoliasBerger, 1986
  • ParacoliasBerger, 1986

Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows in the Palearctic and sulphurs (a name also used for other coliadine genera) in North America. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene , [4] which is sometimes included in Colias.

Contents

Wing venation BH015 Colias.jpg
Wing venation

This genus occurs throughout the Holarctic, including the arctic regions. They are also found in South America, Africa, China and India. Their caterpillars feed on certain Fabaceae, for example vetches (Vicia). The adults forage for nectar. [5] most are thus beneficial by keeping weeds 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. [6] [7] Adults of both sexes have various colour forms. Males are particularly conservative based off of their genitalia structures. These structures are difficult to identify making it difficult to classify the Colias. [8]

Most if not all species of this genus, as usual for Coliadinae, do not sequester toxins or other noxious compounds from their food plants. They are therefore a well-loved prey item of insectivores 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. [9]

Notable lepidopterologists who did many studies on this genus included Julius Röber, J. Malcolm Fawcett, George B. Johnson and Henry Rowland-Brown.

Systematics

Hybridization runs rampant in these polytypic and clinal [10] butterflies, confounding molecular phylogenetics studies. In general, cladistic analyses of only one type of data (particularly mtDNA sequences) cannot be considered reliable. Regardless, the evolutionary 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. [11]

Thermoregulation

Colias are behavioral thermoregulators. They will move their habitats in order to regulate their body temperature. This leads to them having specific and narrow temperature ranges that they could live in. This leaves the Colias to be extremely vulnerable to climate change. [12] The degree of melanism on their wings and fur thickness are major parts of their thermoregulation. The wing absorption/melanization is determined by the proportions of their coloration. They are in a class of pollinators that require minimum fuel due to their small size. [13] When they need pollen they are attracted to flower patterns in the ultraviolet, similar to themselves.

Flight

Colias spend most of their time in active flight and are very strong flyers. Flying is essential for them mate as well as pollinate. But they are very susceptible to temperature and have flight restrictions based on their body temperature. Flight activity is restricted between 27-40 degrees Celsius. Their flight performance is best once at 33-38 degrees Celsius. In order to maintain these temperatures the Colias will use a lateral basking posture. When they reach a temperature outside of the flight activity zone, Colias will find a shaded area under plants in order to cool down. [14]

Species

The genus Colias has approximately 90 different species. It is often difficult to find differences between the species, since they are mostly identified through their wing structure and pattern. [15]

Mountain clouded yellow (C. phicomone) Colias phicomone - Alpen-Gelbling 01 (HS).JPG
Mountain clouded yellow (C. phicomone)

Species

Listed alphabetically: [16]

Danube clouded yellow (C. myrmidone) (MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stara Tura Slovaquie - male.jpg
Danube clouded yellow (C. myrmidone)

Distinguishing characteristics

Colias are usually some shade of yellow, orange or white. Their uppersides feature black borders (usually solid in males, often with pale spots in females). They always perch with wings closed, but upperside pattern may be seen faintly through the wing, or glimpsed in flight. [17]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pieridae</span> Butterfly family in superfamily Papilionoidea

The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow, or orange in coloration, often with black spots. The pigments that give the distinct coloring to these butterflies are derived from waste products in the body and are a characteristic of this family. The family was created by William John Swainson in 1820.

<i>Colias croceus</i> Species of butterfly

Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites.

<i>Colias hyale</i> Species of butterfly

Colias hyale, the pale clouded yellow, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, which is found in most of Europe and large parts of the Palearctic. It is a rare migrant to the British Isles and Scandinavia. The adult wingspan is 52–62 millimetres (2.0–2.4 in).

<i>Colias alfacariensis</i> Species of butterfly

Colias alfacariensis, Berger's clouded yellow, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It was separated from the pale clouded yellow, C. hyale, in 1905. Berger's clouded yellow is a Palearctic species (South and Central Europe, South Russia, Russian Far East, Siberia Central Asia and temperate China also Asia Minor, Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

<i>Colias eurytheme</i> Species of butterfly

Colias eurytheme, the orange sulphur, also known as the alfalfa butterfly and in its larval stage as the alfalfa caterpillar, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, where it belongs to the lowland group of "clouded yellows and sulphurs" subfamily Coliadinae. It is found throughout North America from southern Canada to Mexico.

<i>Erebia</i> Genus of insects (brush-footed butterflies)

Erebia is a Holarctic genus of brush-footed butterflies, family Nymphalidae. Most of the about 90–100 species are dark brown or black in color, with reddish-brown to orange or more rarely yellowish wing blotches or bands. These usually bear black spots within, which sometimes have white center spots.

<i>Colias palaeno</i> Species of butterfly

Colias palaeno, known by the common names moorland clouded yellow, palaeno sulphur, and pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.

<i>Oeneis</i> Genus of butterflies

Oeneis is a butterfly genus of the Satyrinae. All but one of its members are Arctic, sub-Arctic or high-altitude alpine in distribution. Some of the members of the genus are among the butterflies that can get along in the harshest climates of any butterflies. Four species in Europe, more are found in Arctic Russia, Siberia, Mongolia, Arctic North America and the Rocky Mountains. Curiously, there are no observations from Greenland. The development of most species takes two years.

<i>Colias philodice</i> Species of butterfly

Colias philodice, the common sulphur or clouded sulphur, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.

<i>Colias aurorina</i> Species of butterfly

Colias aurorina, the Greek clouded butterfly or dawn clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Greece, the Near East, the Caucasus, and in Iran and Turkmenistan.

<i>Colias phicomone</i> Species of butterfly

Colias phicomone, the 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 meters.

<i>Colias alexandra</i> Species of butterfly

Colias alexandra, the Queen Alexandra's sulphur, Alexandra sulphur, or ultraviolet sulfur, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in western North America. Its range includes Alaska to the Northwest Territories and south to Arizona and New Mexico.

<i>Colias wiskotti</i> Species of butterfly

Colias wiskotti is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Turkestan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Kashmir. The habitat consists of xerophytic mountains.

<i>Colias marcopolo</i> Species of butterfly

Colias marcopolo, the Marco Polo's colias, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Pamir Mountains the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan.

<i>Colias felderi</i> Species of butterfly

Colias felderi is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Tibet and China.

<i>Colias hyperborea</i> Species of butterfly

Colias hyperborea is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the East Palearctic.

References

  1. ↑ Josef Grieshuber & Gerardo Lamas (2007). "A synonymic list of the genus Colias Fabricius, 1807 (Lepidoptera: Pieridae)" (PDF). Mitteilungen der Münchner Entomologischen Gesellschaft . 97: 131–171. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2013-05-09.
  2. ↑ Bjorn Petersen, 1963. The male genitalia of some Colias species.Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 1: 135-156. Archived 2017-06-03 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Lucien A Berger, 1986 Systématique du genre Colias F: Lepidoptera-Pieridae Bruxelles: Imprimerie des Sciences, 1986.
  4. ↑ Andrew V. Z. Brower (November 16, 2006). "Coliadinae". Tree of Life Web Project . Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  5. ↑ Watt, Ward B.; Hoch, Peter C.; Mills, Susan G. (1974-12-01). "Nectar resource use by Colias butterflies". Oecologia. 14 (4): 353–374. doi:10.1007/BF00384578. ISSN   1432-1939.
  6. ↑ M. L. Lim & D. Li (2005). "Extreme ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in jumping spiders (Araneae: Salticidae)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . 89 (3): 397–406. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2006.00704.x .
  7. ↑ Andrew V. Z. Brower (November 16, 2006). "Colias". Tree of Life Web Project . Retrieved August 7, 2008.
  8. ↑ "View of Hybridisation in Colias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae): identification of natural hybrids using unlinked molecular markers | Acta Biologica Sibirica". journal.asu.ru. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  9. ↑ Robert B. Srygley & Joel G. Kingsolver (1998). "Red-wing blackbird reproductive behaviour and the palatability, flight performance, and morphology of temperate pierid butterflies (Colias, Pieris, and Pontia)". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society . 64 (1): 41–55. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.1998.tb01532.x .
  10. ↑ Paul C. Hammond, 1990 Patterns of geographic variation and evolution in polytypic butterflies Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 29(1-2):54-76. Archived 2013-12-03 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ↑ Christopher W. Wheat & Ward B. Watt (2008). "A mitochondrial-DNA-based phylogeny for some evolutionary-genetic model species of Colias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution . 47 (3): 893–902. Bibcode:2008MolPE..47..893W. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2008.03.013. PMID   18442929.
  12. ↑ Kingsolver, Joel G.; Buckley, Lauren B. (2015-03-07). "Climate variability slows evolutionary responses of Colias butterflies to recent climate change". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1802): 20142470. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2470. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   4344148 . PMID   25631995.
  13. ↑ Watt, Ward B.; Hoch, Peter C.; Mills, Susan G. (1974-12-01). "Nectar resource use by Colias butterflies". Oecologia. 14 (4): 353–374. doi:10.1007/BF00384578. ISSN   1432-1939.
  14. ↑ Kingsolver, Joel G.; Buckley, Lauren B. (2015-03-07). "Climate variability slows evolutionary responses of Colias butterflies to recent climate change". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1802): 20142470. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.2470. ISSN   0962-8452. PMC   4344148 . PMID   25631995.
  15. ↑ "Queen Alexandra's Sulphur Colias alexandra W.H. Edwards, 1863 | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
  16. ↑ Markku Savela. "Colias Fabricius, 1807". Lepidoptera and some other life forms.
  17. ↑ Brock, J.P. & Kaufman, K. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin, 2003, p. 60.

Further reading

Colias  [ fr ] "Le genre Colias" provides distribution information in French.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.