| Lesser clouded yellow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Colias chrysotheme ♂ | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Colias |
| Species: | C. chrysotheme |
| Binomial name | |
| Colias chrysotheme Esper, 1781 | |
Colias chrysotheme, the lesser clouded yellow, is a small Palearctic butterfly belonging to the family Pieridae.
The female is white, with a tinge of yellow green. The male is pale yellow on the upper wing, and the edges are black or dark gray with a reddish fringe. Colias chrysotheme is the smallest of the three orange yellowing species found in Central Europe and has a wing span of 36 to 44 millimeters, with the second generation imagines often being slightly larger than the first generation. The wing upper side of the males is orange-yellow coloured and has a dark outer marginal band, which is narrower on the hindwing. The orange colour is slightly weaker than that of Colias croceus and much weaker than in Colias myrmidone . The yellow veins in the dark outer marginal band are in chrysotheme recognizable on the anterior and posterior wings, whereas in croceus these are usually present only on the forewings tips and yellow veins are completely absent in myrmidone. In both sexes there is a black-brown spot in the cell of the forewing upper side and on the rear wing upper side a red spot. The females are recognizable by a greenish front edge of the forewing upper side and yellow spots in the submarginal . Whitish forms are extremely rare. The egg is cylindrical, with conical tip, first whitish, yellowish before hatching. The larva is green and has a white, red interrupted side stripe, but may vary in colour. The pupa is green-yellow with dark spots.
The following subspecies are recognized:
In Eastern Central Europe in Lower Austria, in Burgenland (Lake Neusiedl), in Hungary then east to Romania , Ukraine , South Russia , Kazakhstan , South Siberia , Mongolia and Palearctic parts of China.
It favors flowered meadows, sparse forests, plains and steppe at altitudes below 2,000 m.
The caterpillar feeds on Astragalus species, such as Astragalus austriacus , as well as on Salix and Coronilla plants. The butterflies prefer to fly in the sunshine over steppe areas and feed on the nectar of various meadow flowers. Due to increasing use of fertilizer on barren meadows, the habitat of the species is becoming increasingly limited. The imago flies in April / May and from August to September in two to three generations. The caterpillars of the last generation overwinter after the second moult.
Colias chrysotheme is named in the Classical tradition. The specific epithet derives from Chrysothemis one of the daughters of Danaus in Greek mythology.
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Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites.
Aporia crataegi, the black-veined white, is a large butterfly of the family Pieridae. A. crataegi is widespread and common. Its range extends from northwest Africa in the west to Transcaucasia and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Japan in the east. In the south, it is found in Turkey, Cyprus, Israel, Lebanon and Syria. It is not usually present in the British Isles or northern Scandinavia.
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).
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.
Apatura ilia, the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is named for its similarity to the purple emperor butterfly.
Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows in the Palearctic and sulphurs in North America. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene, which is sometimes included in Colias.
Polyommatus eros, the Eros blue or common meadow blue, is a species of blue butterfly found in the Palearctic.
Drepana falcataria, the pebble hook-tip, is a moth of the family Drepanidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Europe, through Siberia to the eastern Palearctic.
Melitaea didyma, the spotted fritillary or red-band fritillary, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
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.
Colias myrmidone, the Danube clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Colias erate, commonly known as the eastern pale clouded yellow, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from south-eastern Europe, through Turkey over central Asia up to Japan and Taiwan. To the south, its range stretches to Somalia and Ethiopia. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1805.
Charaxes etheocles, the demon charaxes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Zambia.
Colias marcopolo, the Marco Polo's colias, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Pamir Mountains the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan.
Colias christophi is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Colias cocandica is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in Central Asia.
Colias heos is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the East Palearctic.
Colias lesbia is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Neotropical realm.
Colias sifanica is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the eastern Palearctic realm.
Colias romanovi is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the eastern Palearctic realm.