Colias electo

Updated on Jan 24, 2024

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Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Pieridae Scientific name Colias electo		Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Genus Colias Rank Subspecies

Similar Colias christophi, Colias montium, Colias marcopolo, Colias eogene, Colias cocandica

Colias electo, the African clouded yellow or lucerne butterfly, is a butterfly of the Pieridae family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, as well as Arabia. The habitat consists of temperate and montane grasslands.

The wingspan is 35–40 millimetres (1.4–1.6 in) for males and 32–40 mm (1.3–1.6 in) for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August.

The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Trifolium, Vicia and Robinia pseudoacacia.

Subspecies

C. e. electo (South Africa, southern Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia)

C. e. hecate Strecker, 1900 (Angola, southern Zaire, northern Zambia and north-western Malawi)

C. e. pseudohecate Berger, 1940 (Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Sudan, southern Ethiopia and northern Somalia)

C. e. meneliki Berger, 1940 (central and northern Ethiopia and Eritrea)

C. e. philbyi Berger, 1953 (southern and western Arabia)

C. e. manengoubensis Darge, 1968 (eastern Nigeria, Cameroon)

References

Colias electo Wikipedia

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