Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 12.iv.2024

Colias aurorina / Greek Clouded Yellow
Grekja me krah me re
Pieridae - Coliadinae

Colias aurorina Herrich Schäffer, [1850]. TL: Armenia.

1a. Colias aurorina, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Colias aurorina ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Colias aurorina ♀ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Habitat of Colias aurorina. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Colias aurorina egg. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Colias aurorina egg x 100. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 27-28 mm. A slightly larger Colias sp.
Ups: dull orange gc with purple reflections in oblique light.
Upf: wide black marginal border, crossed by yellow veins.
Uph: conspicuous sex-brand above median vein.
Uns: yellow-greenish gc, red fringes.
Unf: absent or vestigial yellow discal area.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: orange gc without purple reflections (white females, forma fountanei, are rare), large, greenish-yellow submarginal spots.
Uns: grey-green gc.
Unh: small pale discal spot, pale submarginal spots forming a continuous band.

Similar species

♂♂ Colias croceus sligthly smaller. Ups: gc orange-yellow. Upf: yellow veins in black marginal band. Uph: similar width black marginal band. Unf: yellow gc. Colias caucasica slightly smaller. Ups: gc orange-red. Upf: no yellow veins in black marginal band. Uph: less wide black marginal band. Uph: small pale submarginal lunules. Uph: yellow spot at analy angle Unf: orange basal gc versus margin.         ♀♀ yellow females Colias croceus sligthly smaller. Ups: yellow-orange gc. Uph: yellow-orange submarginal lunules. Unh: yellow gc. Colias caucasica similar size. Ups: red-orange gc. Uph: pale yellow submarginal lunules. Unf: orange basal gc versus margin. Unh: pale yellow gc. ♀♀ white females Colias croceus forma helice Uph: dusted white (rarely yellowish) gc. C. caucasica forma rebeli Uph: dusted white (rarely yellowish) gc.   ♀♀ Colias alfacariensis Compared with C. aurorina forma fountanei. Upf: weak marginal border. Uph: weak grey suffusion. Uph: weak marginal border.

Ups: ♂♂ Colias caucasica smaller, orange-red. The wide black marginal border is not crossed by yellow-lined veins.
Ups: ♂♂ Colias croceus smaller, not dull orange.
Ups: ♀♀ superficially similar to Colias croceus and C. caucasica. The spots in the marginal black border are not yellow-greenish.
Unh: ♀♀ gc of C. croceus and C. caucasica (including white forms) not grey-green.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation, depending on altitude between May and July.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: hibernating as young larva and feeding in spring till pupation.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Colias aurorina inhabits rough mountain slopes on calcareous soil from 1000 to well above 2000 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement high, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillar feed on low, spiny Astracantha bushes: Astracantha parnassi, Astracantha cretica and Astracantha thracica.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers.

Distribution
Albania: local in southern Albania, at the northern limit of its European range in the Balkan peninsula.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU
Asia Minor, Near East, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Colias aurorina is not endangered, at the northern limit of its European range in the Balkan peninsula.
Albanian Red List: NT.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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