Colias marcopolo

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Marco Polo's colias
Colias marcopolo male.jpg
Male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae
Genus: Colias
Species:
C. marcopolo
Binomial name
Colias marcopolo
Synonyms
  • Colias marcopolo f. dianaSchulte, 1989
  • Colias nicopoloRöber, [1907]

Colias marcopolo, the Marco Polo's colias, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Pamir Mountains the Hindu Kush and Afghanistan. [1]

Contents

Description

Colias marcopolo is one of the smaller species. Upperside of male pale sulphur yellow, with a not very broad greyish black distal marginal band and an inconspicuous large yellow spot on the hindwing, but without a black middle spot on the forewing. Underside of forewing dirty yellow, with greyish-green distal margin; hindwing darker greyish green, with whitish middle spot. The female is yolk colour above and below, the distal marginal band being broader and having the inner edge diffuse, the forewing bearing yellow submarginal spots. The form with brighter yellow upperside, narrower dark distal margins and a black middle spot on the forewing above and below, is named ab.? nicolopolo.

Biology

The larva feeds on species of Astragalus .

Montane habitat in Afghanistan River in Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.jpg
Montane habitat in Afghanistan

Biotope

A montane species found between 3000 and 5000 metres a.s.l.

Subspecies

Etymology

The species is named for Marco Polo.

References

  1. Savela, Markku. "Colias marcopolo Grum-Grshimailo, 1888". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved August 22, 2019.