Butterflies of
the Amazon and Andes
Lesbia Clouded Yellow
Colias lesbia
FABRICIUS, 1775
Family -
PIERIDAE
subfamily -
COLIADINAE
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Colias lesbia meieri, male, Shismay, Peruvian Andes |
Introduction
Butterflies in the subfamily
Coliadinae, which include the Brimstones, Sulphurs, Grass Yellows and Clouded
Yellows, are found in all parts of the world, and total about 300 species. Most 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
lesbia 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.
The butterfly occurs from Colombia to Chile and
Argentina.
Colias lesbia meieri, male, Shismay, Peruvian Andes
Habitats
This species breeds on grasslands and lightly grazed pastures at elevations of between 2500-4000m. These high altitude habitats are above the cloud line and bathed in warm sunshine
throughout most of the year. Daytime temperatures can be as high as 25°C, but
can fall to below freezing point at night.
Lifecycle
The
eggs of Colias species are typically bottle-shaped, ribbed vertically, in most species are creamy yellow or
pale green when first laid, later becoming 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.
Colias lesbia has been observed
ovipositing on alfalfa ( lucerne ) Medicago in the
Urubamba valley in Peru. This is a fodder crop alien to Peru. The natural
foodplant is likely to be a related leguminous plant, e.g. some North American
Colias species feed on Lotus, Vicia, Trifolium
and Astragalus.
The
chrysalises of Colias are typically green or straw coloured, and fixed vertically to a stem by
the cremaster and a silken girdle.
Adult behaviour
The adults are extremely mobile
and usually seen
as wandering singletons, but they can be found in colonies of
several dozen individuals at their breeding sites.
Males
sometimes settle as damp mud to imbibe mineralised moisture.
They patrol back and forth across their grassy
habitats in search of potential mates, interrupting their search
periodically to nectar at tall "ox-eye" daises, or to rest on bare
ground. They repeat this cycle of searching, feeding and resting
continually throughout the morning, but tend to disappear from
view by mid-afternoon.
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