Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 12.iv.2024

Colias caucasica / Balkan Clouded Yellow
Verdhoshja e turbullt e Balkanit
Pieridae - Coliadinae

Colias caucasica Staudinger, 1871. TL: viciinity of Akhaltsikhe, Georgia.

1a. Colias caucasica, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Colias caucasica copula. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Habitat of Colias caucasica. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Colias caucasica ♂ underside. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Colias caucasica copula. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania(© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Habitat of Colias caucasica. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Habitat of Colias caucasica. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1h. Colias caucasica ♂ upperside. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1i. Colias caucasica ♂ underside. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1j. Colias caucasica ♀ upperside. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1k. Colias caucasica ♀ underside. North of Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 25-27 mm.
Ups: deep reddish-orange gc, plain dark margin without yellow veins.
Uph: gleaming sex-brand above median vein, small pale submarginal lunules bordering the black marginal band.
♀♀
Similar to slightly larger size.
Ups: deep reddish-orange gc contrasting strongly with dark border and small yellow spots between veins, white females are rare (forma rebeli).
Uph: slightly dusky, prominent pale yellow submarginal spots.

Similar species

♂♂ Colias aurorina sligthly larger. Ups: gc dull orange, purple reflection. Upf: yellow veins in black marginal band. Uph: similar width black marginal band. Unf: grey-green dusted, yellow gc. Colias croceus sligthly smaller. Ups: gc orange-yellow. Upf: yellow veins in black marginal band. Uph: similar width black marginal band. Unf: yellow gc.         ♀♀ yellow females Colias aurorina sligthly larger. Ups: deeper orange gc. Uph: yellow submarginal lunules. Unh: pale grey-green gc. Colias croceus sligthly smaller. Ups: yellow-orange gc. Uph: yellow-orange submarginal lunules. Unh: yellow gc. ♀♀ white females Colias aurorina forma fountanei Uph: pale yellowish gc. Colias croceus forma helice Uph: dusted white (rarely yellowish) gc.   ♀♀ Colias alfacariensis Compared to C. causica forma rebeli. Upf: weak marginal border. Uph: weak grey suffusion. Uph: weak marginal border.

Ups: ♂♂ Colias aurorina dull orange with purple reflections. Wide black marginal border crossed by yellow-lined veins. Colias croceus deep yellow.
Ups: ♀♀ C. aurorina larger, less orange-red. C. croceus smaller to equal sized, deep yellow. ♀♀ white forms of C. croceus (common) and C. aurorina (rare) quite similar.
Ups: ♀♀ C. aurorina spots in the marginal black border yellow-greenish.
Uns: ♀♀ C. aurorina gc grey-green.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation, from June to July.
Egg: probably short.
Caterpillar: probably hibernating as young larva and feeding in spring till pupation.
Pupa: probably short stage.

Habitat
Colias caucasica inhabits open grassy slopes (extensively grazed) where Chamaecytisus is covering large areas at subalpine level near or just above the timberline from 1000 up to 2000 m a.s.l., nomadic specimens with a very nervous behaviour can be found even higher.
Spatial requirement high, population density can be high. Nomadic.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Chamaecytisus eriocarpus, Chamaecytisus supinus and Chamaecytisus triflorus.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers.

Distribution
Albania: very local in northern Albania (more research needed), at the western 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
Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

Conservation status
Colias caucasica is is at the western limit of its European range in the Balkan peninsula.
Albanian Red List: EN.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: EN B12ab (iii, iv)

Useful links
Lepiforum
euroButterflies
Euroleps
(url) Cuvelier S., Parmentier L., Paparisto A. & Couckuyt J. 2018. Butterflies of Albania – Fluturat e Shqipërisë. New surveys, new species and a new checklist (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) — Phegea 46(2): 48-69.

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