Pieridae : Coliadinae
Berger's Clouded Yellow
COLIAS alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905
Berger's Clouded Yellow
COLIAS alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905
Kind permission - © Tim Norriss
Life Cycle Guide - Europe
Description
Wingspan: 42 - 45mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Albania,Andorra,Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Canary Is.,Crete,Cyprus,Estinia,European Turkey, Finland,
Gibralter,Ireland,Latvia,Madeira,Malta,N Aegean Is.,Norway,N,E,NW & C Russia,Sardinia & Sicily) : S.Russia : Asia Minor : Caucasus : Transcaucasia - Middle Asia - China
UK Distribution: Rare migrant
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Rocky Slopes : Dry Grassy Places : Open Scrub : Gullies
Similar Species -
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: The Berger's Clouded Yellow was only discovered as a separate species in 1945 by LA Berger, a Belgian entomologist, and is impossible to tell apart from the Pale Clouded Yellow in flight as well as the female helice form of the Clouded Yellow making it extremely difficult to ascertain the true numbers of these migrant butterflies in Great Britain and Europe.
In Great Britain this migrant is restricted to southern coasts especially in Kent,making it our rarest migrant, whereas the similar species has reached as far as Scotland.
This butterfly reaches as far as the Mediterranean whereas C.hyale does not appear on the Iberian Peninsula or Greece mainland which can help in separating the two species by region although the eastward range of both species is unclear due to the confusion between the two butterflies.
The forewings of this butterfly are more rounded than the similar species which is slightly pointed and the black edging to the hindwing is less extensive and the basal black busting is less heavy.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding (Albania,Andorra,Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Canary Is.,Crete,Cyprus,Estinia,European Turkey, Finland,
Gibralter,Ireland,Latvia,Madeira,Malta,N Aegean Is.,Norway,N,E,NW & C Russia,Sardinia & Sicily) : S.Russia : Asia Minor : Caucasus : Transcaucasia - Middle Asia - China
UK Distribution: Rare migrant
UK Conservation Status -
- Migrant
- Least Concern
- Colias alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905
- Papilio hyale (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Andalusia - Spain
Habitat: Rocky Slopes : Dry Grassy Places : Open Scrub : Gullies
Similar Species -
- Pale Clouded Yellow - Colias hyale (Linnaeus,1758)
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: The Berger's Clouded Yellow was only discovered as a separate species in 1945 by LA Berger, a Belgian entomologist, and is impossible to tell apart from the Pale Clouded Yellow in flight as well as the female helice form of the Clouded Yellow making it extremely difficult to ascertain the true numbers of these migrant butterflies in Great Britain and Europe.
In Great Britain this migrant is restricted to southern coasts especially in Kent,making it our rarest migrant, whereas the similar species has reached as far as Scotland.
This butterfly reaches as far as the Mediterranean whereas C.hyale does not appear on the Iberian Peninsula or Greece mainland which can help in separating the two species by region although the eastward range of both species is unclear due to the confusion between the two butterflies.
The forewings of this butterfly are more rounded than the similar species which is slightly pointed and the black edging to the hindwing is less extensive and the basal black busting is less heavy.
Photo Gallery
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Fabaceae - Leguminosea - The Pulse - Bean - Pea - Legume Family
- Astragalis monspessulanus - No Common Name
- *Coronilla varia - Crown Vetch
- Dorycnopsis gerardi - No Common Name
- *Hippocrepis comosa - Horseshoe Vetch
- Hippocrepis glauca - No Common Name
- Lotus corniculatus - Bird's-foot Trefoil
- Note - Main Hostplants marked * but larvae have been recorded on all plants
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - COLIAS: Original Species: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Pieridae Coliadinae Coliadini COLIAS Fabricius, 1807 Colias alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905 - Papilio hyale (Linnaeus, 1758) - COLIAS alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905 = Colias australis = Colias sareptensis Staudinger, 1871 = calida Verity, 1916 = anteorthocalida Reissinger, 1989 = postorthocalida Reissinger, 1989 - Einige neue Formen von Schmetterlingen aus Andalusien Soc. ent. 20 (18) : Title Page : P.137 - 138 - Andalusia - Spain - Mediterranean Group - 9 Forms C.a.alfacariensis Ribbe , 1905 - Nominate Subspecies C.a.rumilica Reissinger, 1989 - Bulgaria C.a.kantaraika Reissinger, 1989 - Algeria C.a.ubercalida Reissinger, 1989 - France C.a.senonica Reissinger, 1989 - France,Belgium C.a.orthocalida Reissinger, 1989 - Bavaria C.a.calida Reissinger, 1989 - collected near Braintree Essex - similar to autumn species in S Europe C.a.bergeri Reissinger, 1989 - Asia Minor C.a.matacalida Reissinger, 1989 - Istria on Adriatic Eastern Group - 7 Forms C.a.hyrcanica Reissinger, 1989 - N Iran C.a.fontainei Reissinger, 1989 C.a.remota Reissinger, 1989 - Russia C.a.slavonica Reissinger, 1989 - Serbia C.a.magyarica Reissinger, 1989 - Bihar - India C.a.vihorlatensis Reissinger, 1989 - Slovakia C.a.paracalida Reissinger, 1989 East Asia & Central Asia Group - 2 Forms C.a.manadarina Reissinger, 1989 - China C.a.saissanica Reissinger, 1989 |