LEPIDOPTERA
PIERIDAE Duponchel,1835
COLIAS Fabricius,1807
Colias chrysotheme (Esper, [1777])
Colias chrysotheme elena P. Gorbunov, 1995
• RANGE . Central, S. and SE. Europe, Asia Minor, N. Iran, W. Siberia and the Altai Mts. across S. Siberia to Transbaikalia, Mongolia and NE. China.
• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. From the European part of the range, a great number of varieties and aberrations have been described; in our opinion, they deserve neither specific nor subspecific status. The ssp. audre Hemming, 1933 (= sibirica Grum-Grshimailo, 1893, nom. praeoccup.) occurs in Siberia. The ssp. elena P. Gorbunov, 1995 has recently been described from the Altai but, since there is evidence that it occurs sympatrically with audre in Mongolia, it seems more likely to represent a separate species.
• HABITAT AND BIOLOGY. Sparse forests and steppes up to 2,000 m a.s.l. Flight period: April-August in two to three generations. Host plant (Nekrutenko, 1990): Vicia.
• SIMILAR SPECIES. C. crocea: much larger; UPS ground colour orange-yellow; wings less strongly produced.
Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997