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Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of the Andes
 
Puna Clouded Yellow
Colias dimera DOUBLEDAY, 1847
Family - PIERIDAE
subfamily - COLIADINAE
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Colias dimera minuscula, male, puna grasslands, 3500m, southern Peru.
 
Introduction
 
Butterflies in the subfamily Coliadinae, commonly known as Brimstones, Sulphurs, Grass Yellows and Clouded Yellows, are found in all parts of the world, and total about 300 species. The majority are migratory in behaviour - Colias crocea for example migrates each summer from north Africa to England, and Phoebis agarithe migrates seasonally from the Amazon lowlands to moderate altitudes in the Andes.
 
Colias dimera is one of several Clouded Yellow species which breed at high altitudes in the Andes, and is also migratory in behaviour, crossing seasonally from north to south along the Andean range, and also from the Pacific slope to the eastern Andes.
 
Unlike other Andean species such as lesbia, euxanthe and flaveola, the Puna Clouded Yellow Colias dimera has the central white stigma on the hindwings elongated, as can be seen in the photograph below.
 
The butterfly  occurs in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.
 
Colias dimera minuscula, male, puna grasslands, 3500m, southern Peru.
 
Habitats
 
This species breeds on puna grasslands at elevations of between 2800-4000 metres, in areas which are above the cloud line, and bathed in warm sunshine throughout most of the year.
 
Lifecycle
 
The lifecycle appears to be unrecorded, but the following characteristics are typical of the genus Colias, and therefore probably applicable to dimera :
 
The eggs are bottle-shaped, ribbed vertically, in most species are creamy yellow or pale green when first laid, but later turn orange or dark crimson. They are nearly always laid singly, on the leaves of the larval foodplants.
 
The caterpillars are typically green, with a white or yellow lateral line that is sometimes edged with by a series or black or pinkish dashes. The spiracles are usually highlighted in yellow or orange.
 
The larval foodplants of Colias species are varied, and in North American species include Leguminous herbs such as Lotus, Vicia, Trifolium and Astragalus, dwarf sallows Salix, and bilberry Vaccinium. The pabulum used by neotropical species are unknown.
 
The chrysalis is usually green or straw coloured, and fixed vertically to a stem by the cremaster and a silken girdle.
 
Adult behaviour

 

Migrating adults fly rapidly across the puna grasslands, stopping momentarily to nectar at any available flowers, and often patrolling back and forth along ridges.

 

At an altitude of about 3500m, on a plateau on the eastern Andes of southern Peru, I found what appeared to be a breeding site. At least 15 adults were flying in a small cultivated area of irrigated grassland. The crop was an unidentified grass, amongst which were growing various wild flowers. The butterflies periodically took to flight, always keeping low to the ground, flying rapidly from flower to flower, nectaring at gentians ( Gentianaceae ).

 

Colias dimera minuscula, male, puna / cloudforest transitional habitat, 2800m, southern Peru.

 
 
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
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