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of 46–54 millimetres (1.8–2.1 in). The upperside of the wings is golden to orange yellow with a broad black margin on all four wings and a black spot near the centre forewing. Usually these butterflies settles with its wings closed, consequently the black margin of the uppersides of the wings is
594:
The underside lacks the black borders and is lighter, with a more greenish tint, particularly on the forewings. In the forewing underside is the same dark spot as on the upperside, but often with a light centre; the hindwing underside has a white centre spot, often with a smaller white or dark dot
595:
immediately above it. Sometimes, a row of black dots occurs on the underwings' outer margins, corresponding to where the black border ends on the upperside. Females differ from the males in having yellow spots along the black borders on the upperside.
707:
Adults fly from March to
October. In southern Europe and North Africa they breed continuously throughout the year. Eggs are laid singly on food plant leaves. Usually an extraordinary number of eggs – up to 600 – are laid from a single female.
543:
they can be seen on the south coast almost every year in varying numbers, and regularly breed there. Occurrence in the rest of the UK varies considerably from year to year, but they are increasingly observed as far north as
653:
Young caterpillars are yellow-green with a black head. Later they become completely dark green, with a white red-spotted lateral line after the third moult. The pupae are green and have a yellow side stripe.
719:
within a month. Caterpillars have 4 moults in total. The pupa remains attached to a foodplant stem by a silk girdle. Pupation lasts for two or three weeks and in good years there can be as many as three
427:
1615:
1436:
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1191:
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A truly migratory
European butterfly, this species is famous for occasional mass migrations and subsequent breeding, which are often referred to in the
1552:
1410:
898:
1021:
1610:
903:
1100:
Walsh, Freddie; Walsh, Margaret (2014). "The
Clouded Yellow butterfly Colias croceus (Fourcroy) overwintering at the Raven, Co. Wexford".
575:, coastal cliffs and fields containing the caterpillar's host plants, at an elevation up to 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) above sea level.
477:
465:
1164:
1605:
1449:
1371:
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In about 5% of females, the golden upperside colouration is replaced by a pale cream colour. These females have been distinguished as
925:
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453:
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830:
44:
30:
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1402:
441:
539:
This species is primarily an immigrant to the UK, originating from southern Europe and northern Africa. In the
102:
563:
as "clouded yellow years". Notable clouded yellow years include 1877, 1947, 1983, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 2000.
1275:
1263:
1247:
915:
Asher, Jim; Warren, Martin; Fox, Richard; Harding, Paul; Jeffcoate, Gail & Jeffcoate, Stephen (2001):
1454:
602:
is easily identifiable by the intense yellow colouring, much brighter than that of the lemon-yellow male
867:
197:
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767:
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683:
636:
626:
does not seem to be distinct, as intermediates exist, and the variation is to some extent related to
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67:
55:
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is one of the most widespread species in Europe. The common clouded yellow's breeding range is
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during development, with dryer conditions producing paler colouration. These pale forms
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82:
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tends to have more black on the upperside, however, in particular on the hindwings.
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These butterflies may live in any open area in the countryside, including
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per year, with adults still on the wing at the beginning of
November.
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1363:
885:
773:
529:
716:
521:
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1273:
1127:
Burns, George (1935). "Clouded Yellow
Butterfly in Belfast".
540:
917:
The
Millennium Atlas of Butterflies of Britain and Ireland
516:
as a summer migrant, in good years individuals reaching
417:
All of these forms are usually considered synonyms of
1527:
1282:
556:from the Raven, Co. Wexford, to Belfast, Co. Down.
1243:Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
634:can be confused with Berger's clouded yellow (
841:Adults feed primarily on nectar of thistles (
612:species they never open their wings at rest.
483:Mounted specimen. Male (up) and female (down)
8:
1241:Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili
1270:
1059:
1057:
1055:
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1043:
606:which also lacks black markings. Like all
76:
43:
29:
20:
1156:
1154:
1152:
1150:
937:The Identification of Indian Butterflies
813:species). In the UK wild and cultivated
1017:
1015:
1013:
981:
899:List of butterflies of India (Pieridae)
423:
236:
987:
985:
715:grow fast in warm weather, sometimes
640:) and the rarer pale clouded yellow (
7:
1616:Taxa named by Étienne Louis Geoffroy
1403:131fc538-90ce-4c92-ae87-5dcc29ba4558
1230:Larvae of North-European Lepidoptera
1192:"Naturkundliches Informationssystem"
904:List of butterflies of Great Britain
1581:IUCN Red List least concern species
1262:images of named aberrations in the
829:) are favourites; less frequently,
512:, but it occurs throughout much of
1255:Consortium for the Barcode of Life
1162:Captain's European Butterfly Guide
14:
703:Life cycle and larval host plants
532:in the south; it is not found in
524:, its range extends into central
954:Butterflies of the Indian Region
476:
464:
452:
440:
426:
101:
939:(2nd ed.). Mumbai, India:
552:. It has also been recorded in
1129:The Irish Naturalists' Journal
1102:The Irish Naturalists' Journal
959:Bombay Natural History Society
941:Bombay Natural History Society
1:
1611:Butterflies described in 1785
528:in the north and barely into
949:Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander
727:Larvae feed on a variety of
919:. Oxford University Press.
657:This species is similar to
1632:
831:common bird's-foot trefoil
358:, the yellows and whites.
1606:Lepidoptera of Cape Verde
229:
222:
203:
196:
98:Scientific classification
96:
74:
65:
51:
42:
37:
28:
23:
489:Distribution and ecology
434:Colias croceus f. helice
504:and eastwards through
368:Colias croceus croceus
1596:Butterflies of Europe
1591:Butterflies of Africa
868:Pulicaria dysenterica
591:difficultly visible.
1398:Fauna Europaea (new)
684:Colias alfacariensis
637:Colias alfacariensis
362:Subspecies and forms
16:Species of butterfly
1601:Butterflies of Asia
798:Colutea arborescens
762:Medicago polymorpha
646:). Even the palest
287:(Fabricius, 1787) (
68:Conservation status
56:Old Winchester Hill
1235:2018-09-28 at the
1167:2019-07-21 at the
859:spp.), dandelion (
853:spp.), knapweeds (
835:Lotus corniculatus
738:Trifolium pratense
666:Colias chrysotheme
1568:
1567:
1512:Open Tree of Life
1276:Taxon identifiers
957:. Bombay, India:
928:
750:Medicago lappacea
339:
338:
332:
327:Fabricius, 1777:
323:Fabricius, 1787 (
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291:Fabricius, 1777:
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1478:NHMSYS0000501953
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1194:. Archived from
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1180:Svenska fjärilar
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995:. Archived from
989:
972:
944:
920:
883:), and vetches (
880:Senecio jacobaea
874:Origanum vulgare
768:Medicago sulcata
756:Medicago hispida
690:Colias caucasica
660:Colias myrmidone
622:. The pale form
604:common brimstone
480:
468:
456:
444:
430:
403:(OberthĂĽr, 1880)
322:
314:
306:
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38:Male. Underside
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1529:Papilio croceus
1523:
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1510:
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1499:Observation.org
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1237:Wayback Machine
1226:
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1199:
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1178:
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1169:Wayback Machine
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990:
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969:
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827:Medicago sativa
744:Medicago sativa
731:plants, namely
705:
696:Colias aurorina
581:
569:
502:southern Europe
491:
484:
481:
472:
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460:
457:
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413:(Stauder, 1913)
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335:
312:Papilio croceus
235:
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189:C. croceus
100:
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24:Clouded yellow
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1385:Fauna Europaea
1381:
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1319:
1314:Colias croceus
1304:
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1284:Colias croceus
1280:
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1224:External links
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1172:
1160:Simon Coombes
1146:
1119:
1092:
1089:Fauna europaea
1081:
1076:C. c. helicina
1067:
1064:UK Butterflies
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980:
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968:978-8170192329
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600:Colias croceus
584:Colias croceus
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561:United Kingdom
494:Colias croceus
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419:Colias croceus
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397:Colias croceus
394:
383:Colias croceus
380:
379:(Verity, 1909)
373:Colias croceus
370:
363:
360:
354:of the family
348:clouded yellow
343:Colias croceus
337:
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317:
315:Fourcroy, 1785
309:
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272:Colias croceus
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267:OberthĂĽr, 1880
260:Colias croceus
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251:Colias croceus
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239:Colias croceus
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1198:on 2017-02-15
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999:on 2017-02-15
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871:), marjoram (
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407:Colias crocea
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320:Papilio edusa
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198:Binomial name
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83:Least Concern
73:
69:
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41:
36:
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27:
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19:
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1283:
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1216:Lepiforum.de
1211:
1200:. Retrieved
1196:the original
1186:
1175:
1132:
1128:
1122:
1108:(2): 89–92.
1105:
1101:
1095:
1084:
1075:
1070:
1034:C. c. helice
1033:
1028:
1001:. Retrieved
997:the original
953:
936:
916:
910:Bibliography
884:
878:
877:), ragwort (
872:
866:
860:
854:
848:
842:
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826:
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796:
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784:
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766:
760:
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748:
742:
736:
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713:caterpillars
710:
706:
694:
688:
682:
678:Colias hyale
676:
672:Colias erate
670:
664:
658:
656:
652:
647:
643:Colias hyale
641:
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631:
623:
619:
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583:
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534:Central Asia
498:North Africa
493:
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411:mediterranea
410:
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307:GrĂĽber, 1929
303:
300:Colias edusa
299:
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284:Colias edusa
283:
276:mediterranea
275:
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254:
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246:Verity, 1909
242:
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188:
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175:
18:
1424:iNaturalist
1308:Wikispecies
1135:(11): 286.
933:Evans, W.H.
804:Hippocrepis
722:generations
598:In flight,
579:Description
518:Scandinavia
510:Middle East
377:deserticola
329:preoccupied
293:preoccupied
243:deserticola
155:Lepidoptera
1575:Categories
1544:Q109585079
1266:collection
1249:C. croceus
1202:2017-02-14
1003:2018-03-22
977:References
838:is eaten.
792:Astragalus
786:Onobrychis
729:leguminous
648:C. croceus
135:Arthropoda
1078:at Biolib
1036:at Biolib
862:Taraxacum
856:Centaurea
847:spp. and
819:Trifolium
810:Anthyllis
733:Faboideae
508:into the
352:butterfly
183:Species:
121:Kingdom:
115:Eukaryota
60:Hampshire
1538:Wikidata
1450:LepIndex
1442:11400749
1322:BioLib:
1293:Wikidata
1264:Cockayne
1233:Archived
1165:Archived
1141:25532484
1114:24393598
951:(1957).
935:(1932).
893:See also
717:pupating
628:humidity
588:wingspan
573:downland
550:Galloway
546:Dumfries
401:helicina
356:Pieridae
304:obsoleta
264:helicina
224:Synonyms
215:Geoffroy
165:Pieridae
161:Family:
131:Phylum:
125:Animalia
111:Domain:
88:IUCN 3.1
1558:7860649
1416:5137612
1299:Q520871
889:spp.).
850:Carduus
844:Cirsium
823:alfalfa
815:clovers
567:Habitat
554:Ireland
526:Siberia
217:, 1785)
171:Genus:
151:Order:
145:Insecta
141:Class:
86: (
1586:Colias
1517:765655
1455:174815
1429:143294
1390:440816
1364:COIACR
1351:171010
1251:images
1139:
1112:
993:"GBIF"
965:
924:
821:) and
807:, and
632:helice
624:helice
620:helice
609:Colias
586:has a
520:. In
514:Europe
506:Turkey
471:Mating
459:female
391:HĂĽbner
387:helice
255:helice
176:Colias
54:both,
52:female
1491:72248
1462:LoB:
1437:IRMNG
1377:91089
1372:EUNIS
1338:5ZLQ4
1325:51353
1137:JSTOR
1110:JSTOR
1022:Funet
886:Vicia
780:Lotus
774:Vicia
530:India
1553:GBIF
1486:NCBI
1465:5972
1411:GBIF
1359:EPPO
1260:BMNH
963:ISBN
922:ISBN
711:The
617:form
548:and
522:Asia
500:and
447:Male
233:List
1504:726
1473:NBN
1346:EoL
1333:CoL
1253:at
409:f.
399:f.
385:f.
375:f.
325:non
302:f.
289:non
274:f.
262:f.
253:f.
241:f.
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1149:^
1131:.
1106:33
1104:.
1042:^
1012:^
984:^
961:.
801:,
795:,
789:,
783:,
777:,
771:,
765:,
759:,
753:,
747:,
741:,
699:.
693:,
687:,
681:,
675:,
669:,
663:,
541:UK
536:.
421:.
346:,
58:,
1205:.
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389:(
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295:)
213:(
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