Colias electo
| Colias electo | |
|---|---|
 | |
| | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Pieridae |
| Genus: | Colias |
| Species: | C. electo |
| Binomial name | |
| Colias electo (Linnaeus, 1763) [1] | |
| Synonyms | |
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Colias electo, the African Clouded Yellow or Lucerne Butterfly, is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, as well as Arabia. The habitat consists of temperate and montane grasslands.[2]
The wingspan is 35–40 millimetres (1.4–1.6 in) for males and 32–40 mm (1.3–1.6 in) for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August.[3]
The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Trifolium, Vicia and Robinia pseudoacacia.
Subspecies
- Colias electo electo (South Africa, southern Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia)
- Colias electo hecate Strecker, 1900 (Angola, southern Zaire, northern Zambia and north-western Malawi)
- Colias electo pseudohecate Berger, 1940 (Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Sudan, southern Ethiopia and northern Somalia)
- Colias electo meneliki Berger, 1940 (central and northern Ethiopia and Eritrea)
- Colias electo philbyi Berger, 1953 (southern and western Arabia)
- Colias electo manengoubensis Darge, 1968 (eastern Nigeria, Cameroon)
References
- ↑ Colias, Site of Markku Savela
- ↑ Afrotropical Butterflies: File D – Pierini - Subfamily Coliadinae
- ↑ Woodhall, S. Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 2005.