''Colias'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of butterflies in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern regions of North America and Eurasia.DeVries P. J. in Le ...

. They are often called clouded yellows; the North American name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for

Coliadinae Coliadinae, the sulphurs or yellows, are a subfamily of butterflies with about 300 described species. There are 36 species in North America, where they range from Mexico to northern Canada. In most species, males are easily distinguished from ...

in general. The closest living relative is the genus ''

Zerene ''Zerene'' is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae commonly called dogfaces. The closest living relative is the genus ''Colias''. They are migratory. Species * ''Zerene cesonia ''Zerene cesonia'', the southern dogface, is a North Ame ...

'', which is sometimes included in ''Colias''. BH015 Colias

This genus occurs throughout the

Holarctic The Holarctic realm is a biogeographic realm that comprises the majority of habitats found throughout the continents in the Northern Hemisphere. It corresponds to the floristic Boreal Kingdom. It includes both the Nearctic zoogeographical reg ...

, including the

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenland), Finland, Iceland, N ...

regions. They are also found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sout ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, China and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Their caterpillars feed on certain Fabaceae, for example

vetch ''Vicia'' is a genus of over 240 species of flowering plants that are part of the legume family (Fabaceae), and which are commonly known as vetches. Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other ...

es (''Vicia''). While most are thus beneficial by keeping

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, "a plant in the wrong place", or a plant growing where it is not wanted.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. ...

s at bay, some occasionally become nuisance pests on crops like alfalfa. In some species, the wings of males have brilliant

ultraviolet Ultraviolet (UV) is a form of electromagnetic radiation with wavelength from 10 nm (with a corresponding frequency around 30 PHz) to 400 nm (750 THz), shorter than that of visible light, but longer than X-rays. UV radiation ...

reflection, while those of females do not. Adults of both sexes have various colour forms. Most if not all species of this genus, as usual for Coliadinae, do not sequester

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849 ...

s or other noxious compounds from their food plants. They are therefore a well-loved prey item of insectivores as compared to '' Pieris'' of the related

Pierinae The Pierinae are a large subfamily of pierid butterflies. The subfamily is one of several clades of butterflies often referred to as the whites. Species It includes the following species (additional species can be found under the tribes list ...

. They make up this disadvantage by being more nimble and better able to evade attacks by would-be

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. Notable lepidopterologists who did many studies on this genus included

Julius Röber Johannes Karl Max "Julius" Röber (1861–1942) was a German entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. Röber lived in Dresden. He described many new species and genera (taxa). Works *Parts of Staudinger, O., and Schatz, E. (Eds.) (1884� ...

, J. Malcolm Fawcett, George B. Johnson and Henry Rowland-Brown.

Systematics

Hybridization runs rampant in these polytypic and clinal butterflies, confounding

molecular phylogenetics Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

studies. In general,

cladistic Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived char ...

analyses of only one type of data (particularly

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

sequences In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...

) cannot be considered reliable. Regardless, the

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

ary distance within some "species" is so large that cryptic speciation rather than (or in addition to) interbreeding seems to be the cause. For example, the Beringian populations traditionally assigned to the northern clouded yellow (''C. hecla'') could warrant recognition as a species; hybridization between North American and Asian populations seems to have played a role in their evolution, but as a whole they appear to be a rather old and distinct lineage. Colias phicomone - Alpen-Gelbling 01 (HS)

Colias phicomone - Alpen-Gelbling 01 (HS)

Species

Listed alphabetically: * '' Colias adelaidae'' Verhulst, 1991 * '' Colias aegidii'' Verhulst, 1990 * ''

Colias alfacariensis ''Colias alfacariensis'', Berger's clouded yellow, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It was separated from the pale clouded yellow, ''C. hyale'', in 1905. Berger's clouded yellow is a Palearctic species (South and Central Europe, South Rus ...

'' Ribbe, 1905 – Berger's clouded yellow * '' Colias alexandra'' W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Queen Alexandra's sulphur, Alexandra sulfur, or ultraviolet sulfur * ''

Colias alpherakii ''Colias alpherakii'' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in Central Asia. Description Lighter or deeper yellow above, with well developed and sharply defined black marginal and submarginal markings and black middle spot on the forewing; ...

'' Staudinger, 1882 * '' Colias aquilonaris'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1899 * ''

Colias arida ''Colias arida '' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in Tibet and western China. Taxonomy Treated as a form of '' Colias eogene'' by Röber and described as "paler than ''eogene'', the apex of the forewing being more rounded; among this ...

'' Alphéraky, 1889 * '' Colias audre'' (Hemming, 1933) * '' Colias aurorina'' Herrich-Schäffer, 1850 – Greek clouded butterfly or dawn clouded yellow * '' Colias baeckeri'' Kotzsch, 1930 * '' Colias behrii'' W. H. Edwards, 1866 – Behr's sulphur or Sierra green sulfur * '' Colias berylla'' Fawcett, 1904 – Everest clouded yellow * '' Colias canadensis'' Ferris, 1982 – Canada sulphur * '' Colias caucasica'' Staudinger, 1871 – Balkan clouded yellow * '' Colias chippewa'' W. H. Edwards, 1872 – heath sulphur * '' Colias chlorocoma'' Christoph, 1888 * '' Colias christina'' W. H. Edwards, 1863 – Christina sulphur * '' Colias christophi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1885 * ''

Colias chrysotheme ''Colias chrysotheme'', the lesser clouded yellow, is a small Palearctic butterfly belonging to the family Pieridae. Description The female is white, with a tinge of yellow green. The male is pale yellow on the upper wing, and the edges are blac ...

'' (Esper, 1781) – lesser clouded yellow * '' Colias cocandica'' Erschoff, 1874 * '' Colias croceus'' (Geoffroy, 1785) – dark clouded yellow or common clouded yellow * '' Colias dimera'' Doubleday, 1847 – dimera sulphur * '' Colias diva'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 * ''

Colias dubia ''Colias dubia'', the dwarf clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, that is found in India. See also *List of butterflies of India *List of butterflies of India (Pieridae) References

* * ...

'' Fawcett, 1906 – dwarf clouded yellow * '' Colias electo'' (Linnaeus, 1763) – African clouded yellow * '' Colias elegans'' Schultz, 1904 * '' Colias elis'' Strecker, 1885 (often included in '' C. meadii''; paraphyletic?) * '' Colias eogene'' C. & R. Felder, 1865 – fiery clouded yellow * '' Colias erate'' (Esper, 1805) – eastern pale clouded yellow * '' Colias erschoffi'' Alphéraky, 1881 * '' Colias eurytheme'' Boisduval, 1852 – orange sulphur, alfalfa butterfly * '' Colias euxanthe'' C. & R. Felder, 1865 – Puno clouded yellow * '' Colias felderi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 * '' Colias fieldii'' Ménétriés, 1855 Colias myrmidone, orig

* '' Colias flaveola'' Blanchard, 1852 – flaveola clouded yellow * '' Colias gigantea'' Strecker, 1900 – great (northern) sulphur * '' Colias grumi'' Alpheraky, 1897 * '' Colias harfordii'' W. H. Edwards, 1877 – Harford's sulphur * '' Colias hecla'' Lefèbvre, 1836 – northern clouded yellow, Greenland sulphur, or hecla sulphur ( paraphyletic?) * '' Colias heos'' (Herbst, 1792) * '' Colias hofmannorum'' Eckweiler, 2000 * ''

Colias hyale ''Colias hyale'', the pale clouded yellow, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae, (also known as the yellows and whites) which is found in most of Europe and large parts of the Palearctic. It is a rare migrant to the British Isles and Scandinavia ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – pale clouded yellow * '' Colias hyperborea'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1899 * '' Colias interior'' Scudder, 1862 – pink-edged sulphur * ''

Colias johanseni ''Colias johanseni'', the Johansen's sulphur, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae found in North America. It is endemic to Nunavut, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from th ...

'' Troubridge & Philip, 1990 – Johansen's sulphur * '' Colias krauthii'' Klots, 1935 * '' Colias lada'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 * '' Colias ladakensis'' Felder & Felder, 1865 – Ladakh clouded yellow * '' Colias leechi'' Grum-Grshimailio, 1893 * '' Colias lesbia'' (Fabricius, 1775) – Lesbia clouded yellow * '' Colias libanotica'' Lederer, 1858 (sometimes included in ''C. aurorina'') * '' Colias marcopolo'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1888 * '' Colias marnoana'' Rogenhofer, 1884 * '' Colias meadii'' W. H. Edwards, 1871 – Mead's sulphur * '' Colias montium'' Oberthür, 1886 * ''

Colias mukana ''Colias mukana'' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (central Shaba) and Malawi. Subspecies *''Colias mukana mukana'' (Democratic Republic of Congo) *''Colias mukana jolyi'' Verhulst, 2006 (Mal ...

'' Berger, 1981 * ''

Colias myrmidone ''Colias myrmidone'', the Danube clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. Distribution It is found from Western Asia, through Southern Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary up to Austria and the Jura Mountains The Jura Mountains ...

'' (Esper, 1781) – Danube clouded yellow * '' Colias nastes'' Boisduval, 1834 – Labrador sulphur * '' Colias nebulosa'' Oberthür, 1894 * '' Colias nilagiriensis'' Felder, C & R Felder, 1859 * '' Colias nina'' Fawcett, 1904 – Fawcett's clouded yellow * '' Colias occidentalis'' Scudder, 1862 – western sulphur or golden sulfur * ''

Colias palaeno ''Colias palaeno'', known by the common names moorland clouded yellow, palaeno sulphur, and pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. Subspecies Subspecies include: – northern North America *''Colias palaeno chippewa'' ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1761) – moorland clouded yellow, Arctic sulphur, palaeno sulphur or pale Arctic clouded yellow * '' Colias pelidne'' Boisduval & Le Conte, 1829 – blueberry sulphur or pelidne sulphur * ''

Colias phicomone ''Colias phicomone'', the mountain clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees, the Carpathian Mountains and the Alps. It flies at altitudes of 900 to 2800 meters. The wingspan i ...

'' (Esper, 1780) – mountain clouded yellow * '' Colias philodice'' Godart, 1819 – common sulphur, clouded sulphur * '' Colias ponteni'' Wallengren, 1860 * '' Colias pseudochristina'' Ferris, 1989 * '' Colias regia'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1887 * '' Colias romanovi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1885 * '' Colias sagartia'' Lederer, 1869 * '' Colias scudderii'' Reakirt, 1865 – willow sulphur * '' Colias shahfuladi'' Clench & Shoumatoff, 1956 * '' Colias sieversi'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1887 * '' Colias sifanica'' Grum-Grshimailo, 1891 * '' Colias staudingeri'' Alphéraky, 1881 * ''

Colias stoliczkana ''Colias stoliczkana'', the orange clouded yellow, is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, that is found in India. See also *Pieridae *List of butterflies of India *List of butterflies of India (Pieridae) R ...

'' Moore, 1882 – orange clouded yellow * '' Colias tamerlana'' Staudinger, 1897 * ''

Colias thisoa ''Colias thisoa'' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the mountains of the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, central Asia, southern Siberia, Turkey and Iran. The habitat consists of humid mountain meadows in the forest belt. The larvae ...

'' Ménétriés, 1832 * '' Colias thrasibulus'' Fruhstorfer, 1908 – lemon clouded yellow * '' Colias thula'' Hovanitz, 1955 – Thula sulphur * '' Colias tibetana'' Riley, 1922 * ''

Colias tyche ''Colias tyche'', the Booth's sulphur or pale Arctic clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from Baffin Island west along the Hudson Bay and arctic coasts of the Nunavut and Northwest Territories mainland and the sout ...

'' (Böber, 1812) – pale Arctic clouded yellow, Arctic green sulphur, or Booth's sulphur * '' Colias viluiensis'' (Ménétriés, 1859) * ''

Colias wanda ''Colias wanda'' is a butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found in the eastern Palearctic realm (northern China). Subspecies *''Colias wanda wanda'' *''Colias wanda paskoi'' Kocman, 1999 *''Colias wanda yangguifei'' Huang & Murayama, 1992 Ta ...

'' Grum-Grshimaïlo, 1907 * '' Colias wiskotti'' Staudinger, 1882

Distinguishing characteristics

''Colias'' are usually some shade of yellow, orange or white. Their uppersides feature black borders (usually solid in males, often with pale spots in females). They always perch with wings closed, but upperside pattern may be seen faintly through the wing, or glimpsed in flight.Brock, J.P. & Kaufman, K. ''Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, 2003, p. 60.

Gallery

File:Colias.aurorina.heldreichi.mounted.jpg, '' Colias aurorina heldreichi'', male File:Colias myrmidone.jpg, ''

'', male File:Male Orange Sulphur Megan McCarty18.jpg, '' Colias eurytheme'', male File:Colias.croceus.mounted.jpg, '' Colias croceus'', male File:Colias croceus.forma helice.jpg, '' Colias croceus'' f. ''helice'', female File:Colias chrysotheme.jpg, ''

'', male above, female below File:Female Clouded Sulphur Megan McCarty42.jpg, '' Colias philodice'', female File:Colias philodice white form.jpg, '' Colias philodice'' f. ''alba'', female File:Male Clouded Sulphur Megan McCarty40.jpg, '' Colias philodice'', male File:Colias alfacariensis.jpg, ''

'', male File:Colias hyale.male.jpg, ''

'', male File:Colias hyale.female.jpg, ''

'', female File:Colias.palaeno.mounted.jpg, ''

'', male File:Colias palaeno.female.jpg, ''

'', female File:Colias phicomone.jpg, ''

'', male

References

External links

''Colias'' images
at

Consortium for the Barcode of Life The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) was an international initiative dedicated to supporting the development of DNA barcoding as a global standard for species identification. CBOL's Secretariat Office is hosted by the National Museum of ...

Images representing ''Colias''
at

Encyclopedia of Life The ''Encyclopedia of Life'' (''EOL'') is a free, online encyclopedia intended to document all of the 1.9 million living species known to science. It is compiled from existing trusted databases curated by experts and with the assistance of ...