Colias

''Colias'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are often called clouded yellows in the Palearctic and sulphurs (a name also used for other coliadine genera) in North America. The closest living relative is the genus '' Zerene'', which is sometimes included in ''Colias''.

This genus occurs throughout the Holarctic, including the arctic regions. They are also found in South America, Africa, China and India. Their caterpillars feed on certain Fabaceae, for example vetches (''Vicia''). The adults forage for nectar. most are thus beneficial by keeping weeds at bay, some occasionally become nuisance pests on crops like alfalfa. In some species, the wings of males have brilliant ultraviolet reflection, while those of females do not. Adults of both sexes have various colour forms. Males are particularly conservative based on their genitalia structures. These structures are difficult to identify making it difficult to classify the Colias.

Most if not all species of this genus, as usual for Coliadinae, do not sequester toxins or other noxious compounds from their food plants. They are therefore a well-loved prey item of insectivores as compared to '' Pieris'' of the related Pierinae. They make up this disadvantage by being more nimble and better able to evade attacks by would-be predators.

Notable lepidopterologists who did many studies on this genus included Julius Röber, J. Malcolm Fawcett, George B. Johnson and Henry Rowland-Brown.

Systematics

Hybridization runs rampant in these polytypic and clinal butterflies, confounding molecular phylogenetics studies. In general, cladistic analyses of only one type of data (particularly mtDNA sequences) cannot be considered reliable. Regardless, the evolutionary distance within some "species" is so large that cryptic speciation rather than (or in addition to) interbreeding seems to be the cause. For example, the Beringian populations traditionally assigned to the northern clouded yellow (''C. hecla'') could warrant recognition as a species; hybridization between North American and Asian populations seems to have played a role in their evolution, but as a whole they appear to be a rather old and distinct lineage.

Thermoregulation

Colias are behavioral thermoregulators. They will move their habitats in order to regulate their body temperature. This leads to them having specific and narrow temperature ranges that they could live in. This leaves the Colias to be extremely vulnerable to climate change. The degree of melanism on their wings and fur thickness are major parts of their thermoregulation. The wing absorption/melanization is determined by the proportions of their coloration. They are in a class of pollinators that require minimum fuel due to their small size. When they need pollen they are attracted to flower patterns in the ultraviolet, similar to themselves.

Flight

Colias spend most of their time in active flight and are very strong flyers. Flying is essential for them mate as well as pollinate. But they are very susceptible to temperature and have flight restrictions based on their body temperature. Flight activity is restricted between 27-40 degrees Celsius. Their flight performance is best once at 33-38 degrees Celsius. In order to maintain these temperatures the Colias will use a lateral basking posture. When they reach a temperature outside of the flight activity zone, Colias will find a shaded area under plants in order to cool down.

Species

The genus Colias has approximately 90 different species. It is often difficult to find differences between the species, since they are mostly identified through their wing structure and pattern.

Species

Listed alphabetically:
* '' Colias adelaidae'' Verhulst, 1991
* '' Colias aegidii'' Verhulst, 1990
* '' Colias alfacariensis'' Ribbe, 1905 – Berger's clouded yellow
* '' Colias alexandra'' W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Queen Alexandra's sulphur, Alexandra sulfur, or ultraviolet sulfur
* '' Colias alpherakii'' Staudinger, 1882
* '' Colias aquilonaris'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1899
* '' Colias arida'' Alphéraky, 1889
* '' Colias audre'' (Hemming, 1933)
* '' Colias aurorina'' Herrich-Schäffer, 1850 – Greek clouded butterfly or dawn clouded yellow
* '' Colias baeckeri'' Kotzsch, 1930
* '' Colias behrii'' W. H. Edwards, 1866 – Behr's sulphur or Sierra green sulfur
* '' Colias berylla'' Fawcett, 1904 – Everest clouded yellow
* '' Colias canadensis'' Ferris, 1982 – Canada sulphur
* '' Colias caucasica'' Staudinger, 1871 – Balkan clouded yellow
* '' Colias chippewa'' W. H. Edwards, 1872 – heath sulphur
* '' Colias chlorocoma'' Christoph, 1888
* '' Colias christina'' W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Christina sulphur
* '' Colias christophi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1885
* '' Colias chrysotheme'' (Esper, 1781) – lesser clouded yellow
* '' Colias cocandica'' Erschoff, 1874
* '' Colias croceus'' (Geoffroy, 1785) – dark clouded yellow or common clouded yellow
* '' Colias dimera'' Doubleday, 1847 – dimera sulphur
* '' Colias diva'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
* '' Colias dubia'' Fawcett, 1906 – dwarf clouded yellow
* '' Colias electo'' (Linnaeus, 1763) – African clouded yellow
* '' Colias elegans'' Schultz, 1904
* '' Colias elis'' Strecker, 1885 (often included in '' C. meadii''; paraphyletic?)
* '' Colias eogene'' C. & R. Felder, 1865 – fiery clouded yellow
* '' Colias erate'' (Esper, 1805) – eastern pale clouded yellow
* '' Colias erschoffi'' Alphéraky, 1881
* '' Colias eurytheme'' Boisduval, 1852 – orange sulphur, alfalfa butterfly
* '' Colias euxanthe'' C. & R. Felder, 1865 – Puno clouded yellow
* '' Colias felderi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
* '' Colias fieldii'' Ménétriés, 1855

* '' Colias flaveola'' Blanchard, 1852 – flaveola clouded yellow
* '' Colias gigantea'' Strecker, 1900 – great (northern) sulphur
* '' Colias grumi'' Alpheraky, 1897
* '' Colias harfordii'' W. H. Edwards, 1877 – Harford's sulphur
* '' Colias hecla'' Lefèbvre, 1836 – northern clouded yellow, Greenland sulphur, or hecla sulphur (paraphyletic?)
* '' Colias heos'' (Herbst, 1792)
* '' Colias hofmannorum'' Eckweiler, 2000
* '' Colias hyale'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – pale clouded yellow
* '' Colias hyperborea'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1899
* '' Colias interior'' Scudder, 1862 – pink-edged sulphur
* '' Colias johanseni'' Troubridge & Philip, 1990 – Johansen's sulphur
* '' Colias krauthii'' Klots, 1935
* '' Colias lada'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
* '' Colias ladakensis'' Felder & Felder, 1865 – Ladakh clouded yellow
* '' Colias leechi'' Grum-Grshimailio, 1893
* '' Colias lesbia'' (Fabricius, 1775) – Lesbia clouded yellow
* '' Colias libanotica'' Lederer, 1858 (sometimes included in ''C. aurorina'')
* '' Colias marcopolo'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1888
* '' Colias marnoana'' Rogenhofer, 1884
* '' Colias meadii'' W. H. Edwards, 1871 – Mead's sulphur
* '' Colias montium'' Oberthür, 1886
* '' Colias mukana'' Berger, 1981
* '' Colias myrmidone'' (Esper, 1781) – Danube clouded yellow
* '' Colias nastes'' Boisduval, 1834 – Labrador sulphur
* '' Colias nebulosa'' Oberthür, 1894
* '' Colias nilagiriensis'' Felder, C & R Felder, 1859
* '' Colias nina'' Fawcett, 1904 – Fawcett's clouded yellow
* '' Colias occidentalis'' Scudder, 1862 – western sulphur or golden sulfur
* '' Colias palaeno'' (Linnaeus, 1761) – moorland clouded yellow, Arctic sulphur, palaeno sulphur or pale Arctic clouded yellow
* '' Colias pelidne'' Boisduval & Le Conte, 1829 – blueberry sulphur or pelidne sulphur
* '' Colias phicomone'' (Esper, 1780) – mountain clouded yellow
* '' Colias philodice'' Godart, 1819 – common sulphur, clouded sulphur
* '' Colias ponteni'' Wallengren, 1860
* '' Colias pseudochristina'' Ferris, 1989
* '' Colias regia'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1887
* '' Colias romanovi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1885
* '' Colias sagartia'' Lederer, 1869
* '' Colias scudderii'' Reakirt, 1865 – willow sulphur
* '' Colias shahfuladi'' Clench & Shoumatoff, 1956
* '' Colias sieversi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1887
* '' Colias sifanica'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
* '' Colias staudingeri'' Alphéraky, 1881
* '' Colias stoliczkana'' Moore, 1882 – orange clouded yellow
* '' Colias tamerlana'' Staudinger, 1897
* '' Colias thisoa'' Ménétriés, 1832
* '' Colias thrasibulus'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 – lemon clouded yellow
* '' Colias thula'' Hovanitz, 1955 – Thula sulphur
* '' Colias tibetana'' Riley, 1922
* '' Colias tyche'' (Böber, 1812) – pale Arctic clouded yellow, Arctic green sulphur, or Booth's sulphur
* '' Colias viluiensis'' (Ménétriés, 1859)
* '' Colias wanda'' Grum-Grshimaïlo, 1907
* '' Colias wiskotti'' Staudinger, 1882

Distinguishing characteristics

''Colias'' are usually some shade of yellow, orange or white. Their uppersides feature black borders (usually solid in males, often with pale spots in females). They always perch with wings closed, but upperside pattern may be seen faintly through the wing, or glimpsed in flight.Brock, J.P. & Kaufman, K. ''Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, 2003, p. 60.

Gallery

Colias.aurorina.heldreichi.mounted.jpg, '' Colias aurorina heldreichi'', male
(MHNT) Colias christophi - Tadjikistan Russie - male dorsal.jpg , ''Colias christophi'', male
(MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stará Turá Slovaquie - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias myrmidone'', male
Male Orange Sulphur Megan McCarty18.jpg, '' Colias eurytheme'', male
(MHNT) Colias croceus - Durfort Tarn France - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias croceus'', male
(MHNT) Colias croceus f. helice - Wyzyna, Okolice Polska - female dorsal.jpg, '' Colias croceus'' f. ''helice''
(MHNT) Colias chrysotheme chrysotheme - Érd Hongrie - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias chrysotheme'', male
Female Clouded Sulphur Megan McCarty42.jpg, '' Colias philodice'', female
Colias philodice white form.jpg, '' Colias philodice'' f. ''alba'', female
Male Clouded Sulphur Megan McCarty40.jpg, '' Colias philodice'', male
(MHNT) Colias alfacariensis - Novy Jicin, Moravie Tchéquie - female dorsal.jpg, '' Colias alfacariensis'', female
(MHNT) Colias hyale - Novy Jicin Moravie Czech Republic - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias hyale'', male
(MHNT) Colias hyale - Novy Jicin Moravie Czech Republic - female dorsal.jpg, '' Colias hyale'', female
(MHNT) Colias palaeno - Majdan Kasztelański Pologne - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias palaeno'', male
Colias palaeno.female.jpg, '' Colias palaeno'', female
(MHNT) Colias Phicomone - Pic d'Aneto Espagne - male dorsal.jpg, '' Colias phicomone'', male
(MHNT) Colias Phicomone - Sestriere Italia - female ventral.jpg, ''Colias phicomone'', female

References

Further reading

*Vladimir Lukhtanov & Alexander G. Lukhtanov, 1994 ''Die Tagfalter Nordwestasiens'': (Lepidoptera, Diurna) V. Eitschberger
*Joseph T. Verhulst (English translation R. Leestmans, editing E. Benton and R. Leestmans), 2000 ''Les Colias du Globe'' translation ''Monograph of the genus Colias'' Keltern, Germany: Goecke & Evers
* Glassberg, Jeffrey ''Butterflies through Binoculars, The West'' (2001)
* Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. ''Butterflies of British Columbia'' (2001)
* James, David G. and Nunnallee, David ''Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies'' (2011)
* Pelham, Jonathan ''Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada'' (2008)
* Pyle, Robert Michael ''The Butterflies of Cascadia'' (2002)
"Le genre Colias" provides distribution information in French.

External links

''Colias'' images
at Consortium for the Barcode of Life
Images representing ''Colias''
at Encyclopedia of Life
Euroleps
via search, includes images

Photos and text relating to Palaearctic species
Die Gattung Colias von J. Fuchs
Images from Siberia

Butterflies and Moths of North America

Butterflies of America

{{Authority control

Pieridae genera
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
Coliadinae
Taxa described in 1807