LEPIDOPTERA
PIERIDAE Duponchel,1835
COLIAS Fabricius,1807
Colias hyale (Linnaeus, 1758)
Colias hyale hyale (Linnaeus, 1758)
• RANGE . Temperate Europe and Siberia to Transbaikalia, central Yakutia, Mongolia and NW. China.
• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The nominate subspecies is distributed in the European part. In addition, several other subspecific forms are known: ssp. altaica Verity, 1911 - the Altai and Sayan mts.; ssp. irkutskana Stauder, 1924 -Transbaikalia; ssp. palidis Fruhstorfer, 1910 - East Siberia.
• HABITAT AND BIOLOGY. Meadows and forest edges up to 2,700 m a.s.l. in the forest and forest-steppe zones. Flight period: April-September in two to three generations. Pupae hibernating. Sometimes migrations can be observed. Host plants (Eckstein, 1913; Ebert, 1991; etc.): Fabaceae (Vicia, Coronilla, Medicago, Lotus, Cytisus, TrifoUum, etc.).
• SIMILAR SPECIES. C. poliographus: larger; wings more strongly produced; UPS black pattern heavier. C. sareptensis: FW termen convex; UPS ground colour lemon-yellow; UPH orange double discal spot bright.
Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997