Colias electo

Colias electo
C. e. pseudohecate, Ethiopia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Colias
Species:	C. electo
Binomial name
Colias electo (Linnaeus, 1763) [1]
Synonyms
List Papilio electoLinnaeus, 1763 Papilio electraLinnaeus, 1767 Papilio palaenoStoll, 1781 Colias aurivilliusKeferstein, 1883 Colias electo electo f. overlaetiBerger, 1940 Colias electo f. millariStoneham, 1957 Colias electo ab. eremnaVári, 1976 Colias electo electo f. elysiumKroon, 1985 Colias electo electo ab. capensisMcLeod and McLeod, 2002 Colias electo electo ab. inconstantisMcLeod, 2004 Colias electo electo ab. memorabilisMcLeod, 2004 Colias electo electo ab. pallidulaMcLeod, 2004 Colias hecateStrecker, 1900 Colias electo hecate f. katangaeBerger, 1940 Colias electo hecate f. bundaBerger, 1940 Colias electo hecate f. elisabethaeBerger, 1940 Colias electo meneliki f. bafanaeBerger, 1940 Colias electo philbyi f. bafanaeBerger, 1953 Colias electo philbyi f. pauperBerger, 1953 Colias electo philbyiBerger, 1953 Colias electo pseudohecate f. licinaBerger, 1940 Colias electo pseudohecate f. lecerfiBerger, 1940 Colias electo pseudohecate f. splendensBerger, 1940 Colias electo pseudohectae ab. dormontiDufrane, 1947 Colias electo f. affricanaStoneham, 1957 Colias electo f. ambreanaStoneham, 1957

Colias electo, the African clouded yellow or lucerne butterfly, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, as well as Arabia. The habitat consists of temperate and montane grasslands. ^[2]

The wingspan is 35–40 millimetres (1.4–1.6 in) for males and 32–40 mm (1.3–1.6 in) for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August. ^[3]

The larvae feed on Medicago sativa , Trifolium , Vicia and Robinia pseudoacacia .

Subspecies

• C. e. electo (South Africa, southern Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia)
• C. e. hecateStrecker, 1900 (Angola, southern Zaire, northern Zambia and north-western Malawi)
• C. e. pseudohecateBerger, 1940 (Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Sudan, southern Ethiopia and northern Somalia)
• C. e. menelikiBerger, 1940 (central and northern Ethiopia and Eritrea)
• C. e. philbyiBerger, 1953 (southern and western Arabia)
• C. e. manengoubensisDarge, 1968 (eastern Nigeria, Cameroon)

References

1. Colias at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Subfamily Coliadinae". Archived from the original on 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2012-05-01.
3. Woodhall, Steve (2005). Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik. ISBN   978-1-86872-724-7.

• Seitz, A. Die Gross-Schmetterlinge der Erde 13: Die Afrikanischen Tagfalter. Plate XIII 22 f