Nilgiri clouded yellow | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Pieridae |
Genus: | Colias |
Species: | C. nilagiriensis |
Binomial name | |
Colias nilagiriensis | |
Synonyms | |
Colias nilgiriensis( lapsus ) |
The Nilgiri clouded yellow, [2] Colias nilagiriensis, sometimes considered a subspecies of Colias erate , is a small butterfly native to Shola forests of the Western Ghats. It belongs to the family Pieridae. [2]
Some authors treat this as a subspecies of the eastern pale clouded yellow ( C. erate ) [3] while others consider it on the basis of its geographic isolatation as a phylogenetically distinct species Colias nilagiriensis. [2] [4]
Charles Thomas Bingham (1907) gives a detailed description:
Race nilgiriensis, Felder. Closely resembles typical hyale, but as it is isolated in the hills of Southern India it has acquired a distinguishable general appearance.
♂ Upperside : ground-colour a deeper, brighter yellow ; irroration of black scales at base of fore wing much more extensive and on the hind wing spread right up to the black on terminal margin ; terminal black border to both fore and hind wings proportionately broader ; on the fore wing traversed as in the typical form by a transverse series of yellow spots. Underside : ground-colour a brighter yellow than in hyale,but somewhat densely overlaid along the costal margin, on apical area of fore wing and over the whole surface of the hind wing, with a dusting of black scales that gives the underside of the wings a decidedly green tinge. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in hi/ale, but the latter two somewhat darker on the upperside.
♀ Upperside: ground-colour apparently always white, but so very densely overlaid on the basal third of the fore and over the whole surface of the hind wing with irrorations of black scales, that the insect has a very distinctive appearance when compared with the white dimorphic ♀ of hyale black borders to both wings as in hyale, but traversed on the fore wing by only two white spots and on both wings proportionately broader. Underside : fore wing white, apex broadly greenish yellow ; disco-cellular and postdiscal spots as in hyale. Hind wing : greenish yellow, spots and markings much as in hyale. Both sexes always run strikingly smaller than they do in the typical form.
Exp. ♂,♀ 44-48 mm. (1.74-1.88").
Hab. Southern India : the Nilgiri and Palani Hills and Travancore, at 5000 feet.
It is found in Shola forests, which are subtropical rainforests in the valleys of tall meadows in the Western Ghats. Therefore, it has a range from Kudremukha in central Karnataka, to Coorg, Wayanad, Nilgiris, and down to Silent Valley National Park, to the Anamalais. It is also found in the Periyar National Park, where it is found in the Sholas around Kakki Reservoir, and down to the Pothigai and Ponmudi.
The larvae feed on Parochetus communis and Trifolium . [6]
Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, the yellows and whites.
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.
Euploea core, also known as the common crow, is a common butterfly found in South Asia to Australia. In India it is also sometimes referred to as the common Indian crow, and in Australia as the Australian crow. It belongs to the crows and tigers subfamily Danainae.
Dodona ouida, the mixed Punch, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indomalayan realm in West China, Himalayas, Northeast India (hills) and Burma that belongs to the Punches and Judies, that is, the family Riodinidae.
Eurema brigitta, the small grass yellow or broad-bordered grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in India, other parts of Asia, Australia and Africa.
Eurema laeta, the more commonly known spotless grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, which is found in India, Sri Lanka, China, Indochina, Japan, and onwards to Australia.
Eurema andersonii, the one-spot grass yellow or Anderson's grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in India, Myanmar and other parts of Asia.
Eurema blanda, the three-spot grass yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae which is found in Sri Lanka, India and southeast Asia.
Pareronia ceylanica, the dark wanderer, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites. It is found in Sri Lanka and India.
Prioneris sita, the painted sawtooth, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south India and Sri Lanka.
Appias indra, the plain puffin, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.
Appias lyncida, the chocolate albatross, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is found in south and southeast Asia.
Prosotas noreia, the white-tipped lineblue, is a species of lycaenid butterfly found in South Asia and Java.
Ypthima chenu, the Nilgiri fourring, is a species of Satyrinae butterfly found in south India.
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.
Colias fieldii, the dark clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in southern Iran, India, southern China, Indochina, and Ussuri.