| Southern dogface | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Zerene |
| Species: | Z. cesonia |
| Binomial name | |
| Zerene cesonia (Stoll, 1790) | |
 | |
| Synonyms | |
Colias cesonia(Stoll, 1790) | |
Zerene cesonia, the southern dogface, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae (until recently the species was sometimes placed in the related genus Colias instead of Zerene).
The upper side of the pointed forewings have a dogface pattern. The wings are mainly yellow with black borders. The underside of the wings is mostly yellow with a black eyespot on the forewing and two white spots on the hindwing.
This butterfly can be found in short-grass prairie hills, open woodlands, and near road edges.
Both male and female southern dogfaces may be seen feeding at flowers such as alfalfa, Coreopsis species, Houstonia species, and Verbena species. Males are also fond of puddling. Its host plants include the leadplant Amorpha canescens , false indigo Amorpha fruticosa , soybean Glycine max , alfalfa Medicago sativa , black dalea Dalea frutescens , purple prairie clover Dalea purpurea , and clover Trifolium species.
Males patrol areas for females. The male is the active flight partner.
The green-white eggs are laid on the underside of the host plant leaves. The larva is green with a white stripe running down each side of its body. The green chrysalis hangs upright with a silken girdle around itself.
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.
Zerene eurydice, the California dogface butterfly, belongs to the family Pieridae and is a member of a genus closely related to the genus Colias. A study that collected mitochondrial DNA from various Colias butterfly species found that Z. eurydice had decreased divergence from the ingroup, highlighting how closely related these two genera are. This species is endemic to California, and is California's state insect. The California dogface butterfly varies in its wing color and pattern.
Phoebis sennae, the cloudless sulphur or cloudless giant sulphur, is a mid-sized butterfly in the family Pieridae found in the Americas. There are several similar species such as the yellow angled-sulphur, which has angled wings, statira sulphur, and other sulphurs, which are much smaller.
The common blue butterfly is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly is found throughout the Palearctic. Butterflies in the Polyommatinae are collectively called blues, from the coloring of the wings. Common blue males usually have wings that are blue above with a black-brown border and a white fringe. The females are usually brown above with a blue dusting and orange spots.
Anthocharis midea, the falcate orangetip, is a North American butterfly that was described in 1809 by Jacob Hübner. It belongs to the family Pieridae, which is the white and sulphurs. These butterflies are mostly seen in the eastern United States, and in Texas and Oklahoma. They eat the nectar of violets and mustards. They tend to live in open, wet woods along waterways, in open swamps, and less often in dry woods and ridgetops. This species is a true springtime butterfly, being on the wing from April to May.
Anthocharis cethura, the desert orangetip or Felder's orangetip, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Pierinae. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it lives on hills and ridges in rocky desert habitat.
Colias croceus, clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites.
The Adonis blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm.
The Zabulon skipper is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States.
Colias philodice, the common sulphur or clouded sulphur, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.
Nathalis iole, the dainty sulphur or dwarf yellow, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their use of passionflowers as a host plant, variegated fritillaries also have taxonomic links to the heliconians. Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word euptoietos meaning "easily scared".
Ancyloxypha numitor, the least skipper, is a North American butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. They have a weak, Satyrinae-like flight.
Chlosyne lacinia, the bordered patch or sunflower patch, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Callophrys henrici, the Henry's elfin or woodland elfin, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. In Canada it is found from southern Manitoba to southern Nova Scotia. It has two main groups of populations in the United States; the first is found along the Atlantic Coast and uses various hollies (Ilex) as host plants; and the second is found mainly in the north and the Appalachians where they use redbud as a host plant. Henry's elfin is increasing in New England because of an introduced buckthorn it now uses as a host plant. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
Papilio palamedes, the Palamedes swallowtail or laurel swallowtail, is a North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.
Dixeia pigea, the ant-heap small white or ant-heap white, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae that is native to Africa.
Dalea candida is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name white prairie clover. It is native to North America, where it can be found throughout central Canada, the central United States, and northern Mexico. It can sometimes be found outside its range as an introduced species. It grows in many types of habitat, including several types of prairie, foothills, woods, forests, and disturbed areas.
Dalea purpurea is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known as purple prairie clover. Native to central north America, purple prairie clover is a relatively common member of the Great Plains and prairie ecosystems. It blooms in the summer with dense spikes of bright purple flowers that attract many species of insects.
 | This Pieridae-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
