Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Mexican Yellow
Description
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 Eurema mexicana
Upper surface is creamy white with indented black borders which outline a "dog's head " on forewings ; more pronounced in male. Hindwing with projecting tail-like points . (ref. 105604)
Color:
Upper surface is creamy white or pale yellow with indented black borders which outline a "dog's head" on forewings ; more pronounced in male. Hindwing with projecting tail-like points .
Size/Age/Growth
Wing span : 1 3/4 - 2 1/2 inches (4.4 - 6.3 cm).
Habitat
Open, dry areas Found in moister areas in Mexico and Central America.
Biology
Diet
Caterpillar hosts: Acacia and Diphysa in the pea family (Fabaceae). Adult food: Nectar from a wide variety of flowers.
Reproduction
None reported.
Behavior
Flight: Midsummer to fall as vagrant , all year in tropics.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
)
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
)
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
)
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
)
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
)
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
)
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
)
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
)
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
)
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
)
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
)
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
)
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
)
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
)
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
)
- Family:
Pieridae
(
)
- Whites and Yellows (Sulphurs)
- Subfamily:
Coliadinae
(
)
- Genus:
Eurema
(
)
- Hübner, 1819
- Specific name:
mexicana
- (Boisduval, 1836)
- Scientific name: - Eurema mexicana (Boisduval, 1836)
- Specific name:
mexicana
- (Boisduval, 1836)
- Genus:
Eurema
(
- Subfamily:
Coliadinae
(
- Family:
Pieridae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 17-Feb-2007
Similar Species
Members of the genus Eurema
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 13 species and subspecies in this genus:
E. albula (Ghost Yellow) · E. andersoni (One-Spot Yellow Grass) · E. boisduvaliana (Boisduval's Yellow) · E. brigitta (Small Grass Yellow) · E. daira (Barred Yellow) · E. dina (Dina Yellow) · E. lisa (Little Sulphur) · E. lisae (Little Yellow) · E. mexicana (Mexican Yellow) · E. nicippe (Sleepy Orange) · E. nise (Mimosa Yellow) · E. proterpia (Tailed Orange) · E. salome (Salome Yellow)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Annotated checklist of the butterflies of Illinois [by] Roderick R. Irwin [and] John C. Downey. Urbana, Illinois Natural History Survey, 1973. url p. 17.
- Bibliography (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1993. url p. 158, p. 278.
- Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url , p. 51.
- Entomological news, and proceedings of the Entomological Section of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. Philadelphia[Entomological Rooms of the Academy of Natural Sciences] url p. 211, p. 211, p. 228, p. 228, p. 321.
- Entomological news. [Philadelphia]American Entomological Society, 1925- url p. 152, p. 157, p. 214, p. 254, p. 255, p. 287, p. 68, p. 80, p. 87, p. 90.
- Index to the literature of American economic entomology. Melrose Highlands, Mass. [etc.], American Association of Economic Entomologists [etc.], 1917-62. url p. 142.
- Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 303.
- Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 4th series. San Francisco, California Academy of Sciences. url p. 293.
- The Entomologist's record and journal of variation. s.l., s.n. url p. 262, p. 268.
- The Lepidopterists' news: the monthly newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Lepidopterists' Society, 1947-1958. url p. 85, p. 91, p. 92.
- The changing Illinois environment: critical trends: technical report of the Critical Trends Assessment Project. Springfield, Ill.: Ill. Dept. of Energy and Natural Resources, 1994. url p. 179.
- Transactions of the San Diego Society of Natural History. 6 1930 [San Diego]: The Society, 1905-1989. url p. 11, p. 398.
- Tulane studies in zoology. 6 1958 New Orleans: Tulane University, 1953-1968. url p. 103, p. 109, p. 92.
- Zoology of Colorado, by Theodore D.A. Cockerell. .. Boulder, Col., University of Colorado, 1927. url p. 217.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
- GloBIS (GART): Global Butterfly Information System. Release date: November 23, 2008
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 26, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
- Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
- Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2603230
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Gar-2002
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEPB4030
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 172116
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=15&sci=Pieridae&com=Whites and Sulphurs [back]
