Colias lesbia

Colias lesbia
e vautieri, cunninghami g dionora
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Colias
Species:	C.  lesbia
Binomial name
Colias lesbia (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Colotis pyrrhothea Hübner, 1823 Colias pyrrhothea var. heliceoides Capronnier, 1874 Colias aquilo Austaut, 1912 Colias aquilo f. obscura Köhler, 1923 Colias aquilo f. micans Köhler, 1923 Colias aquilo f. flaveola Köhler, 1923 (preocc.) Colias aquilo f. maculata Köhler, 1923 Colias lesbia eurinice Martin, [1923] Colias aquilo ab. rufa Köhler, 1928 Colias aquilo ab. citrina Breyer, 1930 Colias aquilo ab. privata Breyer, 1939 Colias aquilo ab. angustimargo Breyer, 1939 Colias aquilo ab. koehleri Breyer, 1939 Colias aquilo ab. nigromarginata Breyer, 1939 Colias aquilo ab. punctata Breyer, 1939 Colias aquilo ab. citronigra Breyer, 1939 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea ab. almeidai Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea f. heliceoides ab. lutzi Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea f. heliceoides ab. travassosi Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea ab. strandi Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea ab. costa-limai Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea f. heliceoides ab. schweizeri Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea ab. williamsi Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia pyrrhothea ab. forbesi Biezanko, 1949 Colias lesbia var. andina Staudinger, 1894 Colias dinora Kirby, 1881 Colias lesbia meieri Berger, 1983 Colias lesbia roberti Salazar, 2002 Colias rutilans Boisduval, 1836 Colias cunninghami Butler, 1881 Colias minuscula Butler, 1881 Colias lesbia var. (ab.) antarctica Staudinger, 1899 Colias lesbia var. arena Staudinger, 1899 Colias vautieri[sic] ab. micans Breyer, 1939 Colias vauthierii ljungneri Bryk, 1944 Colias verhulsti Berger, 1983 Colias verhulsti f. aurantiaca Berger, 1983

Colias lesbia is a butterfly in the Pieridae family. It is found in the Neotropical ecozone.

Description

Specimens from South Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina differ so little that they cannot be separated. This form is in the male dark orange-yellow, specimens with violet reflections are not rare; the black-brown distal margin is not sharply defined proximally. The under surface with the exception of the reddish middle of the forewing is vivid yellow with the usual Colias marking. The ground-colour of the upper surface in the females is very variable: orange-yellow, yellow, yellowish or white with grey dusting; greenish grey specimens also occur.

Biology

Flies from November to January.

Subspecies

• C. l. lesbia (Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Uruguay)
• C. l. andina Staudinger, 1894 (Bolivia) from 3000–4000 metres asl, sprinkled with blackish
• C. l. dinora Kirby, 1881 (Ecuador, Colombia)4000 —5,500 metres asl orange-yellow, with washed-out, moderately broad dark distal margin to the forewing; the hindwing has a submarginal row of small, dark, inconspicuousspots. The under surface on the forewing is somewhat lighter, on the hindwing somewhat darker than the upper, the median spot is white, small and margined with reddish. The female has lemon-yellow ground-colour and yellow spots in the dark distal margin of the forewing.
• C. l. mineira Zikán, 1940 (Brazil (Minas Gerais))
• C. l. vauthierii Guérin-Méneville, [1830] (Chile, Argentina) is in the male above orange-red with broad black-brown margin and median spot of the same colour on the forewing, the black-brown margin of the hindwing is much narrower and is suddenly reduced towards the inner angle; the hindwing has a smaller, indistinct dark median spot. The under surface of the forewing is orange-red, at the margins and particularly at the apex yellowish, and has a black median spot and a submarginal row of black spots, which are larger posteriorly. The under surface of the hindwing is yellow, slightly orange in the middle, the reddish median spot has a light centre, a reddish diffuse spot is placed at the base of the wing and in addition there is a row of small reddish submarginal spots; the inner margin is greenish. The female has above yellowish white ground-colour, broader dark distal margins on both wings and light submarginal spots. The ground-colour of the underside of the forewing is impure white, of the hindwing yellowish.
• C. l. verhulsti Berger, 1983 (Peru)

Taxonomy

Accepted as a species by Josef Grieshuber & Gerardo Lamas

History

Charles Darwin observed a large swarm of these butterflies in Patagonia.

External links

• Butterflies of America Photographs of Fabricius holotype and types of subspecies.