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Colias philodice

(Clouded Sulfur)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Clouded Sulfur, Clouded Sulphur, Clouded Sulphur Butterfly, Common Sulphur, Common Sulphur Butterfly

Description

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Family Pieridae

'The Pieridae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, most species are found in the tropics. Adults have medium to small wings that are white, yellow, or orange, with some black or red, and many have hidden ultraviolet patterns that are used in courtship . Species with more than one generation usually have distinct seasonal variation in appearance . Adults of all species visit flowers for nectar, and adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs . Males patrol in search of receptive mates, and females lay columnar eggs on leaves, buds, and stems. The majority of caterpillars of North American whites and sulphurs feed on legumes or crucifers (members of the Mustard family ). Typically, temperate species overwinter in the pupal or larval stage , while tropical species overwinter as adults.

'[1]

Physical Description

Species Colias philodice

Upper surface of male wings bright, clear yellow with solid black edging; lower side of forewing with some dark submarginal spots; hindwing with silver cell spot rimmed with orange-pink, usually doubled. Female has 2 forms: yellow form with uneven black edging enclosing yellow spots, and a white form which is greenish-white rather than yellow. Spring and fall forms are smaller and less conspicuously marked . (ref. 105573)

Color:

Upper surface of male wings bright, clear yellow with solid black edging; lower side of forewing with some dark submarginal spots; hindwing with silver cell spot rimmed with orange-pink, usually doubled. Female has 2 forms: yellow form with uneven black edging enclosing yellow spots, and a white form which is greenish-white rather than yellow. Spring and fall forms are smaller and less conspicuously marked .

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 1 1/2 - 2 3/4 inches (3.8 - 7 cm).

Habitat

Many different open areas including lawns, alfalfa and clover fields , meadows, road edges .

This species is characteristic of open fields and meadows, being numerous in parts of the state in cultivated fields where legumes, such as alfalfa, are growing. It is never seen in wooded habitats , nor does it often occur in gardens and residential areas. (ref. 104652)

Many different open areas including fields, lawns, alfalfa and clover fields, road edges, meadows. (ref. 105573)

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 3,925 meters (0 to 12,877 feet).[2]

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Plants in the pea family (Fabaceae) including alfalfa (Medicago sativa), white clover (Trifolium repens), and pea (Pisum sativum). Adult food: Flower nectar of many plants.

Foodplants are in the legume (Fabaceae) family; alfalfa and clovers are commonly used in the East. Nectar plants are typically those in cultivated fields or in meadows, such as clovers and alfalfas. (ref. 104652)

Reproduction

Eggs are chartreuse, laid singly on various legumes, especially clovers (Trifolium). Caterpillar bright green with darker stripe on back, lighter green stripe on side. Green chrysalis overwinters . Eggs laid singly on host; caterpillars eat leaves. Hibernation is by third-stage caterpillars.

Behavior

Flight: Three flights in the north from May-October, 4-5 in the south from March-November.

Flight period: Occurs from late February into November, very rarely into December and January. Apparently four broods occur in the state, based on the flight charts. (ref. 104652)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 08-Feb-2007

Similar Species

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Care must be taken to properly distinguish these butterflies from the similar and more common Orange Sulphur, especially in the springtime when some Orange Sulphurs show very little orange on the dorsal surface. Clouded Sulphurs never show any orange coloration.

Members of the genus Colias

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 56 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. alexandra (Queen Alexandra's Sulphur) · C. alexandra alexandra (Queen Alexandra's Sulphur) · C. alfacariensis (Berger's Clouded Yellow) · C. aurorina (Dawn Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. aurorina aurorina (Dawn Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. behri (Sierra Green Sulfur Butterfly) · C. behrii (Sierra Sulphur) · C. canadensis (Canadian Sulphur) · C. caucasica (Balkan Clouded Yellow) · C. cesonia (Dog Face) · C. chippewa (Heath Sulphur) · C. christina (Christina Sulphur) · C. christina christina (Christina Sulphur) · C. christina kluanensis (Kluane Sulphur) · C. chrysotheme (Lesser Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. crocea (Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. croceus (Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. erate (Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow) · C. eurytheme (Alfalfa Butterfly) · C. gigantea (Giant Sulphur) · C. gigantea gigantea (Giant Sulphur) · C. gigantea harroweri (Southern Giant Sulphur) · C. harfordii (Harford's Sulphur) · C. hecla (Hecla Sulphur) · C. hecla hecla (Artic Sulphur) · C. hecla hela (Hela Sulphur) · C. hyale (Pale Clouded Yellow) · C. interior (Pink-Edged Sulphur) · C. johanseni (Johansen's Sulphur) · C. meadii (Mead's Sulphur) · C. meadii elis (Elis Sulphur) · C. myrmidone (Danube Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. myrmidone myrmidone (Danube Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. nastes (Labrador Sulphur) · C. nastes aliaska (Alaskan Arctic Sulphur) · C. nastes moina (Manitoba Arctic Sulphur) · C. nastes nastes (Labrador Sulphur) · C. nastes streckeri (Strecker's Arctic Sulphur) · C. nastes werdandi (Nastes Sulphur) · C. occidentalis (Western Sulphur) · C. occidentalis chrysomelas (Golden Sulphur) · C. occidentalis pseudochristina (Western Sulphur) · C. palaeno (Palaeno Sulphur) · C. palaeno chippewa (Chippewa Sulphur) · C. palaeno palaeno (Moorland Clouded Yellow Butterfly) · C. pelidne (Pelidne Sulphur) · C. pelidne pelidne (Pelidne Sulphur) · C. pelidne skinneri (Skinner's Pelidne Sulphur) · C. phicomone (Mountain Clouded Yellow) · C. philodice (Clouded Sulfur) · C. philodice philodice (Clouded Sulphur) · C. philodice vitabunda (Lively Clouded Sulphur) · C. scudderi (Scudder's Sulphur) · C. scudderii (Scudder's Sulphur) · C. tyche (Booth's Sulphur) · C. tyche thula (Thula Sulphur)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
  2. Mean = 534.350 meters (1,753.117 feet), Standard Deviation = 526.820 based on 2,749 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012