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NOTE: the text corresponds to Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995) only.
FAMILIA PIERIDAE Duponchel, [1835]
The butterflies of intermediate size. The wing ground colour
is usually white, yellow or orange, with black or greenish
markings. The head rounded. All the legs are equally developed
and used for walking.
Eggs: elongate, ribbed longitudinally, 0.7-1.5 mm in length.
The larvae are mostly green, often with markings and stripes,
covered by sparse short and fine hairs, feed predominantly on
Brassicaceae and Fabaceae. The pupae have the head pointed; they
are attached head upwards or horizontally by tail hooks and a
cincture, or a belt of silk threads around the middle. This
family embraces all main pests among butterflies.
The world fauna includes about 1000 species, in Asian Russia
40 species are known.
SUBFAMILIA DISMORPHIINAE.
GENUS LEPTIDEA Billberg, 1820.
Type species: Papilio sinapis Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 18-27 mm. The wings are elongate, white; the body is
long and very thin. As a rule two broods develop, the imagines of
the summer brood being larger and with less expressed suffusion.
The flight of imagines is weak and slow.
Eggs: spindle-shaped with twelve ribs, at first white, later of
a cream colour, laid singly on the young stems and leaves of
foodplants. The larvae of our species are very similar, they are
thin, green, with a darker back line and a yellow line on either
side at the spiracles. The pupae are sharply pointed on either
end and bear a conspicuous projection on the thorax, which make
them triangle-shaped; yellow or green, with more or less
expressed two-coloured, yellowish and reddish-brown lateral
streaks. They are attached with a cincture head upwards or
downwards.
A Palearctic genus with five species.
71. Leptidea sinapis (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: Morocco, Europe, Anterior and Central Asia, Kazakhstan,
the southern halves of Ural and Siberia to Priangarye, in West
and Middle Siberia northwards to the Middle Priobye.
HABITAT: forest edges, glades, openings, brook valleys, meadows,
in the mountains (Altai) rises up to 1500 m altitude; on the
most part of the range flies together with L. morsei in the same
habitats.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods, almost permanently from late April
to late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Lathyrus, Vicia, Trifolium,
Medicago, Astragalus, Lotus, Coronilla, and other herbaceous
Fabaceae. Larva: green with a dark back line and yellow
spiracular lines. Pupa ochre-yellow or green, with a reddish
streak on either side.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 18-23 mm. The fore wing apex is
rounded; the hind wing underside is yellowish, the greyish
pattern in the spring brood imagines (f. lathyri Hubner, 1823)
is distinct but the lengthwise strokes between the veins are
absent, in the imagines of the summer brood (f. deniensis
Boisduval, 1840) it consists of two vague stripes or is absent
entirely. Similar species: L. morsei.
72. Leptidea morsei (Fenton in Butler, 1881).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Hokkaido.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia westwards to the Balkans and the
lowland Austria, northwards in Siberia to the northern border of
the middle taiga zone; the Sakhalin, Japan.
HABITAT: forest edges, glades, open woodland, brook banks,
meadows; in the mountains rises up to 1800 m above sea level (N.
Altai). The imagines were observed to feed on the flowers of
Pulmonaria, Geranium, Iris, various Fabaceae.
FLIGHT PERIOD: early May/June and July/August, in two broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Vicia cracca, V. amoena,
Lathyrus, other herbaceous Fabaceae. Eggs: according to Lorcovic
(1947) differ from those of L. sinapis by somewhat greater size.
Larva: as compared with that of L. sinapis, has a lighter
colouration, a wider back line and more conspicuous yellowish
spiracular lines. Pupa: green with yellowish or reddish line on
either side, it differs from that of L. sinapis by a longer head
prominence and a straight profile of the dorsal side.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 19-25 mm.; as different from L.
sinapis, the fore wing is slightly pointed apically. The hind
wing underside is white with a distinct greyish pattern. In the
spring brood butterflies (f. croatica) on hind wing underside at
outer margin there are distinct dark intervein lengthwise
strokes; in the summer brood the pattern consists of
two distinct greyish stripes going across the veins, one of
which, as different from L. amurensis, crosses the cell between
the veins M1 and M2. Similar species: L. amurensis, L. sinapis.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural and, most probably, eastwards
throughout the continent there ranges the subspecies major
Grund, 1905 (?= morseides Verity, 1911), described from
Yugoslavia. has been described.
73. Leptidea amurensis (Menetries, 1859).
TYPE LOCALITY: Priamurye.
South Siberia east of Verkhnee Priobye [the upper Ob'
basin], Central Yakutia, NE Kazakhstan, Mongolia, NE CHina,
Priamurye, Primorye, Japan.
HABITAT: meadows and bushes in river valleys, dry meadows, open
woodland, birch forest-steppe.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods: May/Middle June and July/late
August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Vicia is known. The preimaginal
stages resemble those of L. morsei. Pupa: that of summer
generation light green, hibernating pupa of the spring brood -
pale brown (Fukuda et al. 1982).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 21-27 mm. The fore wing apex is
more acutely pointed than in L. morsei and is somewhat stretched
out. In the spring brood the hind wing underside is pale ochre-
coloured with a greyish pattern and the lengthwise white beam
going throughout the wing, not being interrupted with a greyish
spot, in the summer brood the underside is entirely white or has
two obscure greyish transversal bands, which, as different from
a similar species L. morsei, do not enter the space between the
veins M1 and M2.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The taxa emisinapis Verity, 1911
(Pribaikalye) and vibiloides Verity, 1911 (Priamurye) are close
to the nominotypical subspecies. Ssp. vernalis Graeser, 1892,
was described from the Sakhalin. The subspecies jacutia P.
Gorbunov et Korshunov, 1995 was described from Yakutia.
Original description:
"Butterflies from Central Yakutia differ by a noticeable
yellowish tint on the wing upperside and more intensive, than in
other subspecies, ochre suffusion on the underside of the hind
wing and on the most part, at the apex and the fore margin, of
the fore wing. By these characters we state a subspecies
Leptidea amurensis jacutia P. Gorbunov et Korshunov, sbsp.n.
MATERIALS: Holotype: a male - 2.06.1985, Yakutsk, the
botanical garden (V. Dubatolov). Paratypes: a male - 21.06.1962,
the same locality; 2 males - 28.05.1985, the same locality; a
male - 2.06.1985 - the same locality."
SUBFAMILIA PIERINAE Duponchel, [1835]
TRIBUS PIERINI Duponchel, [1835]
GENUS APORIA Hubner, [1819].
Type species: Papilio crataegi Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 28-33 mm. The wings are white or yellowish, in our
species without black spots but with conspicuous black veins.
A Palearctic genus with 12 species.
74. Aporia crataegi (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia, except for deserts and arctic
tundras.
HABITAT: forest meadows, other woody and open
landscapes, bogs, gardens.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/middle July. In Siberia and the Far
east this species repeatedly (every 4-5 years) exhibits mass
proliferation, and almost every year this is the most abundant
butterfly in the forest-steppe zone, in E Europe the last mass
proliferation was observed in 30ths. The imagines migrate
actively, some specimens penetrating into montane and lowland
tundras. Copulation as a rule occurs immediately after the
imagines have hatched from the pupae, with the wings yet not
spread. According to our observations, active contacts between
the mature males and females, which superficially resemble
mating, are not in fact copulations, but rather an abortive form
of mating behaviour. These butterflies as a rule congregate in
plenties on wet ground at pools, brooks, lakes etc., males
predonimating in these congregations. The imagines feed on
various flowers the pollen of which often colours their hind
wings.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: The main foodplants: mostly Padus avium, and
also Sorbus aucuparia, S. sibirica, Spiraea media - in forest
and forest-steppe zone of Ural and West Siberia (our
observations); Padus avium, Prunus spinosa, Amigdalus nana,
Rosa, Malus - in the steppen zone of Preduralye (Kuznetsov,
Martynova, 1954); Vaccinium uliginosum in Yakutia, Zabaikalye,
and Priamurye (Kurenzov, 1970; Sviridov, 1981a); Armeniaca
Sibirica - in SE Transbaikalia (V. Dubatolov); Crataegus
maximowiczii, C. pinnatifida, Malus manshuricus in Primorye
(Kuranzov, 1970). The various species of the genera Spiraea,
Crataegus, Cotoneaster, Malus, Pyrus, Cerasus, Amygdalus,
Filipendula, and also Quercus and Juglans are reported as the
foodplants from other parts of the range. Eggs: ribbed, yellow-
orange, in batches by 20-200 most frequently on the leaf
underside of foodplants. The young larvae are gregarious, in
August they construct a nest by spinning several leaves or twigs
with silk, in which they overwinter. After hibernation they at
first live on the nests and feed on buds, later they keep
together in groups by several individuals and eat leaves and
inflorescences, but after the last moult live solitarily. Mature
larva: brown or dark-ash-grey with blueish-grey ventral side, on
either side with two wide reddish-brown lengthwise stripes split
into fragments by segment divisions; covered by long light
hairs. Pupae: yellowish with black markings, on trunks and
branches, often by numerous groups.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 23-36 mm. The wings are milky-
white with black veins, in females often with transparent areas;
yellow scales are absent from the hind wings.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: weakly expressed in N Asia. The taxa
meinhardi Krulikowsky, 1903 (W SIberia), sajana Verity, 1911 (E
Sayan), banghaasi Bryk, 1921 (Priamurye), ussurica Kardakov,
1928 (Primorye), and sachalinensis Matsumura,
1925 (Sakhalin) most probably should be attributed to the
nominotypical subspecies. A Japanese subspecies adherbal
Fruhstorfer, 1910 was reported for the South Kuriles.
75. Aporia hippia (Bremer, 1861).
TYPE LOCALITY: Priamurye: the basins of Zeya, Bureya, and
Ussuri Rivers.
RANGE: Zabaikalye, Priamurye, Primorye, E Mongolia, NE China,
Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: deciduous and mixed forests, gardens, mostly in river
valleys.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Berberis amurensis is known
(Kurenzov, 1970). The preimaginal phases were studied in Japan
(Fukuda et al., 1982). Eggs: elongate, yellow with lenghtwise
lines, laid in batches by 50-200 on leaf underside of the
foodplant. The larvae live gregariously on loose silken nests,
hibernate at the third or fourth instar. Mature larva: dark-
brown with lengthwise darker lines and spots on the back and
sides, set with long light hairs; the head is black. Pupa:
cream-white or yellow with numerous black markings on the thorax
and abdomen, with black lines margining the antennal cases and
joints of thoracic segments.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 27-37 mm. The wing underside
ground colour is yellowish, with a bright yellow spot at the
base; the veins are accompanied with broad dark suffusion.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: is weakly expressed. The taxon
occidentalis O. Bang-Haas, 1927, was described for the
Malakhanskii mountain range in W Transbaikalia, which is very
close to ssp. hippia, known from Primorye and Priamurye.
GENUS PIERIS Schrank, 1801.
Type species: Papilio brassicae Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 17-34 mm. The wing upperside is white, less frequently
yellowish; the discoidal spot on the fore wing is absent, the
veins are not conspicuous; the sexual dimorphism is expressed
through appearing or enlarging the black spots in the
postdiscoidal area in females. The larvae are generally green,
they live on Brassicaceae. The pupae are light-coloured with
black markings; with the head pointed and with angular
projections on the dorsal side: one on the thorax and two on the
first abdominal segment; those of the autumn/spring brood
hibernate.
The genus includes about 30 species, mostly inhabiting the arid
mountains of the subtropical Asia.
77. Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: Europe, N. Africa, Anterior and Central Asia. Kazakhstan,
China, North, Central and South Ural, the south of Siberia
westwards to Pribaikalye. The species is actively expanding. In
W. Siberia P. brassicae became abundant only in the latest
couple of decades. Recently it has established in S.Primorye
and since the autumn 1993 is abundant there. Recently was found
out also at Khabarovsk. In 70s years the species invaded Chile
where became a pest.
HABITAT: meadows, fields, waste lands, settlements; in the mountains
goes as high as 1700 m above sea level (N.Altai); a serious pest.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/September in 2-3 broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae, predominantly
cultivated: Brassica, Raphanus, Sinapis, Lepidium, Rorippa,
etc., and also Reseda lutea (Resedaceae). Eggs: conical with 14
ribs, yellow, in clusters by 20-100 on the foodplant. The young
larvae are gregarious, eat the mesophyl of the young leaves from
their underside, not perforating the upperside epidermis. Mature
larva: blueish-green with yellowish ventral side and yellow back
stripe, sprinkled with black spots of different sizes and set
with short light hairs; the ventral side is yellowish; lives
solitarily. Pupa: yellowish-green or white with small black and
orange dots and spots, attached to tree trunks, fences, and
other rather high places; hibernates. The Pupae from Primorye
differ by those from Europe and Siberia by presence of thorn-
like projections on the sides (V. Dubatolov, pers. comm.)
PECUILAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 25-34 mm. Fore wing has a black
area at the apex, extended along the fore and outer margins,
females have also two round black spot in the postdiscoidal
area. The hind wing underside is yellowish with a light even
suffusion of black scales.
SIMILAR SPECIES: Pieris rapae
78. Pieris rapae (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: Eurasia, N. Africa, N. America, Australia. In Ural
and West Siberia reaches the polar regions but is not found in
the north of East Siberia and the Far East.
HABITAT: steppes, meadows, fields, wasting lands, settlements,
roads and clearings in woods.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in the southern areas from May to September in 2-
3 broods, in the North in a single brood in early summer.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae: Alliaria, Arabis,
Barbarea, Brassica, Cardamine, Descurainia, Erysimum, Hesperis,
Raphanus, Turritis; and also Reseda lutea (Resedaceae). Eggs:
pear-shaped, with 12 ribs, yellowish-orange, usually laid singly
on leaf underside. Larva: velvety, with fine pubescence, mate-
green with a yellowish back line and two stripes or rows of
spots of the same colour along either side; the head is
brownish-green, the ventral side is yellowish-green. It develops
rapidly, pupates after the fourth moult, usually on leaf
undersurface. Pupa: yellowish- or greyish-green or pale brown,
depending on the substrate colour, with yellowish streaks and
black spots on the wing cases, back, and sides of abdominal
segments, it has prominences on the head and thorax. Its stage
lasts for 7-10 days, or the pupa hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 20-30 mm. Dark apical spot on
fore wing is slightly extended along the costal margin and does
not reach the middle of the outer edge; the hind wing underside
is evenly pale-yellow or whitish.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: is little studied. The butterflies from
Ural and the majority of Siberia are in general close to the
subspecies rapae (? = viluensis Rober, 1907, described from the
Vilyui River). The specimens from Transbaikalia and more eastern
regions are characterized by a widened dark pattern on the fore
wing upperside in females, a suffusion by dark scales in the
interhal half of this wing being well expressed, they were
reported under the names: kenteana [Staudinger] in Rober, 1907
(Kentei), orientalis Oberthur, 1880 (Primorye), metra
Stephens, 1827 (the Sakhalin), crucivora Boisduval, 1836 (the
Sakhalin and Kuriles) but all they are insufficiently
studied, the differences being very weak. Numerous individual
variations are known for this species.
79. Pieris canidia (Sparrman, 1768).
TYPE LOCALITY: China.
RANGE: The southern half of Asia, including Central Asia, NE. China,
Korea, Japan; recently was discovered by E.A. Belyaev in South
Primorye at the village Ryazanovka.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in N.Korea in the second half of July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae. Larva resembles
that of P. rapae. The pupa has a sharp projection on either
side of the first abdominal segment.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 24-28 mm. The apical spot
strongly extends along the fore and, especially, outer margin of
the fore wing upperside; on the fore wing upperside there is one
round black spot in male and two ones in female; the hind wing
underside ground colour is white.
79. superspecies napi
F.w.l. of the the first (spring) brood imagines usually 18-24
mm; the apical dark spot on the fore wing is narrow, stretched
along the costal margin, frequently replaced by a dark suffusion
of the vein endings; the hind wing underside with a heavy dark
suffusion along the veins. F.w.l. of the the second (summer)
brood imagines is up to 31 mm; the hind wing underside has traces
of a dark suffusion along the veins or is clear white.
The systematic situation within the group is very
complicated due to a high level of individual variation. In the
work by Eitschberger (1983) a new attempt has been made to split
Pieris napi L. s.l. into a number of separate species, seven of
which being reported for the territory considered. However,
special study, especially with regard of the preimaginal stages,
are missing in those regions, so the conclusions still remain to
be the matter of future.
80. Pieris (napi) napi (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: Europe, Anterior and Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Ural, West
Siberia, the mountains of South Siberia east to ?Pribaikalye.
HABITAT: meadows of various kinds, fields, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: usually in two broods in May/June and July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: various Brassicaceae (Alliaria,
Arabis, Armoracia, Barbarea, Brassica, Cardamine, Descurainia,
Draba, Erysimum, Lepidium, Raphanus, Sisymbrium, Thlaspi etc.)
and also Reseda lutea (Resedaceae). Eggs: bottle-shaped, with 14
ribs, yellowish, laid singly on the leaves or stems of the
foodplant. Larva: velvet-green with yellow interrupted streak on
either side, sprinkled with black dots and pale warts; its
development lasts for 2-3 weeks. Pupa: green with black dots,
more slender and angular than in P. rapae. F.w.l.: 19-26 mm.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 17-26 mm. As compared with P.
(napi) bryoniae, the basal darkening on the wings is weaker, the
hind wing underside ground colour is of a noticeable yellowish
tint, in females the wing upperside has no yellowish tint and
a weaker vein suffusion.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The nominotypical subspecies napi inhabits
Ural and West Siberia. In the mountains of South Siberia from
the West Tannu-Ola mountain range to the Selenga River basin in
Buryatia a subspecies euorientis Verity, 1908 ranges. It has
been described from the East Sayans and is considered by U.
Eitschberger (1983) as an independent species.
81. Pieris (napi) bryoniae (Hubner, 1791).
TYPE LOCALITY: Switzerland: "Gebirge bei Gent".
RANGE: Distributed mostly in the mountain regions of the northern
half of Eurasia, Reported for the mountains of South, Central,
and East Siberia (Eitschberger, 1983). The range is to be
studied.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July in a single brood.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Lapland (Eitschberger, Strohle,
1990) Eggs are green spindle-shaped, with 17 ribs. A young larva
is light-green, covered with white hairs. Mature larva is dark-
green, with a whitish-green ventral side, covered with tiny
black dots. The spiracles are brown with wide yellow rims. Pupa:
green, with yellow keel-like projections, or ochre-coloured with
black spots of small or varying size.
PECILUAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 18-25 mm. As compared with P.
(napi) napi, the dark basal suffusion is more expressed, in
females the wing upperside usually has a strong yellowish tint, the
dark suffusion along the veins being heavier.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies bryonides Scheljuzhko,
1910 ranges in the mountains of South Siberia; the subspecies
vitimensis Verity, 1911 is described from West and Central
Yakutia; schintimeisteri Eitschberger, 1983 - from the Aldan
upland and Verkhoyanskiy mountain range; sheljuzhkoi
Eitschberger, 1983 - from the Magadan Region (the Kolyma basin
and city Magadan); peculiar butterflies from Kamchatka was
described as ssp. kamtschadalis Rober, 1907. Probably it is P.
bryoniae to which a little-known taxon sichotensis Kurenzov,
1941 from the Sikhote-Alin' Mts. should be attributed.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: By external and biological features this
species much resembles P.(napi) napi. In Central Europe
differences were found out between these taxa, on the molecular
level (isozyme variation) (Gieger, 1978). However, during
populational studies in the Alps other authors (Benninger et
al., 1993) revealed fertility of the hybrids, that indicated
rather at a subspecies rank. In SIberia such studies are
missing.
82. Pieris (napi) dulcinea (Butler, 1882).
TYPE LOCALITY: N.Korea.
RANGE: Priamurye, Primorye, the Sakhalin, the South
Kuriles, NE. China, Korea. There are also reports on its
occurrence further westwards to the Kodar mountain range in NE.
Zabaikalye (a male in the ISEA collectikon collected by Savin,
expedition headed by Starikovskii, on 7.08.1986) and
northwards to the Suntar-Khayata mountain range in S.Yakutia.
HABITAT: meadow patches, wood edges, bush thickets, fields,
settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods in middle April/middle May and
middle June/late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Arabis hirsuta was reported
for Primorye (Kurenzov, 1970).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO As different from P. melete, on the
fore wing upperside the cell has no dark suffusion. Spring brood
imago: F.w.l. 19-25 mm; the dark postdiscoidal spots on the fore
wing underside are of close size (in females) or absent (in
males); the hind wing underside has no yellowish tint and a
yellowish spot at the wing base usually is not seen. The summer
brood imago: F.w.l.: 24-30 mm; on the fore wing upperside the
apical dark spot is triangular or only vein endings are dark
suffused, in the postdiscoidal area there is usually one spot in
males and two ones in females; the hind wing underside is
white. By many features this taxon is close to P. (napi) napi.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies dulcinea is distributed
in the continental part of the range. The subspecies saghalensis
Nakahara, 1926 was described from the Sakhalin, which differ by
on average smaller size of the butterflies of the summer brood
and reduction of thedark patter on the fore wing upperside.
Besides, a taxon tomariana Matsumura, 1928, described from the
Kunashir Island and considered as a distinct species by
Eitschberger (1983) is close to the spring brood of P.
dulcinea. A Japanese taxon nesis Fruhstorfer, 1909 was also
reported for the Sakhalin and South Kuriles, which is also given
a species rank by Eitschberger (1983). .
83. Pieris (napi) melete Menetries, 1858.
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
Range: Priamurye (known from the city Blagoveshchensk to
the Gorin River), Primorye, NE. China, Korea, Japan.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods from middle May to early September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae, Arabis hirsuta
was reported for Primorye (Kurenzov, 1970), a number of other
species - for Japan.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO As different from similar species of
the napi group, the lower vein of the cell on the hind wing
underside is heavily suffused with dark scales. Spring brood
imago: F.w.l. 21-27 mm; the hind wing underside is light-yellow
with the veins suffused, a distinct yellowish spot usually
presenting at the base; on the fore wing underside the upper
dark postdiscoidal spot is much smaller than the lower one, the
traces of which are usually seen even in males. The summer
brood imago: F.w.l.: 26-31 mm; on the fore wing upperside the
apical dark spot is large and usually quadrangular, in the
postdiscoidal area two spots are present in males, in females
they are very large; the wing underside is white.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The continental part of the range is
inhabited by the subspecies orientis Oberthur, 1881,
described from the Askold Island and also considered by U.
Eitschberger as a distinct species.
GENUS PONTIA Fabricius, 1807.
Type species: Papilio daplidice Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 17-27 mm; the wing upperside is white; the fore wing
has a black discoidal spot and separate spots at the apex; in
females the hind wing has dark spots; the hind wing underside is
yellowish-green or dull green with white spots; in the cell there
is one white spot isolated from the others. Hibernation occurs at
the pupal stage.
The genus includes six species ranging in Eurasia and Africa.
84. Pontia edusa (Fabricius, 1777)
(= daplidice auct. non Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Central Europe.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia, in Siberia penetrates as north as
the middle taiga belt.
HABITAT: dry meadows, steppes, waste lots, long fallows, fields,
settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: early May/September in 2-3 broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae: Alyssum, Arabis,
Berteroa, Erysimum, Sisymbrium, Thlaspi, Turritis; Resedaceae:
Reseda lutea, also reported are some Fabaceae: Vicia, Lathyrus,
Pisum, Trifolium. Eggs: cylindrical with rounded apex and 14
ribs, at first yellow, later become orange-yellow. According to
observations in the Middle Ural (P. Gorbunov), the mature larva
is blueish-gren with two pale-yellow stripes on either side, the
head and body bears black warts and fine pubescence, black on
the back and whitish on the ventral side; the head is light-
green and has two yellow spots above the eyes. The larvae live
by families or solitarily. Pupa: the abdomen is coloured alike
the larva: green with a brownish or greyish tint, tiny black
dots, and yellowish-white streaks; the wing cases are evenly
green with lengthwise rows of very fine black dots; the head
apex and dorsal crests are brownish.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 18-27 mm. The hind wing
underside is yellowish-green with separate white spots of
different sizes, that in the cell being roundish.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: For a long time this species was known as
Pontia daplidice L. However, the isozyme analysis has revealed
that P. daplidice ranges in S Europe, N Africa and the Near
East, while the temperate zone of Eurasia is inhabited by P.
edusa F., which differs from the former species not only on the
molecular level but also by the genitalia structure.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: the nominotypical subspecies ranges in
Ural and Siberia, ssp. orientalis Kardakov, 1928 was reported from
Zabaikalye, Priamurye, Primorye, and the Sakhalin.
84a. Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758)
...
RANGE: N Africa, S Europe, S Asia, in Russia is reported for S
Primorye: the Kedrovaya Pad' Nature Reserve (Keskula, 1990) and
the Gamov Peninsula (V. Dubatolov).
...
85. Pontia chloridice (Hubner, 1808).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Balkans.
RANGE: The steppe and forest-steppe zones of Eurasia from Greece
to Bol'shoy Khingan and Korea, the mountains of Central Asia,
reported for the west of USA.
HABITAT: steppes of various kind, steppen and forest-steppen
meadows in open woods, birch groves, montane slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods in middle May/late June and
middle July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: various Brassicaceae, in
Novosibirsk Region observed on
Descurainia sophia (Korshunov, 1981), in Preduralye - on
Sisymbrium junceum (Bartel, 1914). According to observations
from N. Amercia, the eggs are yellow, later become orange; laid
singly on various parts of the foodplant. Larva: yellowish-green
or greenish-white, speckled with small black warts; the segment
joints are orange or yellow; a light-green or yellowish stripe
goes along the back; the head is light-green with black dots.
Pupa: brownish-green with a light streak along the back and
cream wing cases; the first and second abdominal segments are
greyish-white.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 17-22 mm. On the hind wing
underside green colour extending along the veins forms two full
waving bands; the white spot in the cell is elongate.
86. Pontia callidice (Hubner, 1805).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Swiss Alps.
RANGE: Polar and mountain regions of the non-tropical Eurasia,
the north and west of N America. A local species. In 20-30th
years of this century this montane species was first found in
the West Siberian Lowland in the upper Ob' basin (at Kamen'-na-
Obi and Barnaul). In 1991-1993 it appeared to be quite common
on the lowland in the forest-steppe and southern steppe zones
from South and Middle Ural to the Ob' River and was also found
in lowland steppes of S Zabaikalye.
HABITAT: montane and lowland tundras, shingle banks, floodland
meadows of rivers and brooks, steppefied south-exposed slopes;
in the forest steppe zone found on pastures, wasting and long
fallow lands at settlements, i.e. the habitats of Pontia edusa.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/August; in lowlands two broods
develop, flying in middle May/late June and middle July/middle
August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Brassicaceae; in Middle Ural
found on Erysimum cheirantoides (P. Gorbunov), in Pribaikalye on
Erysimum sp. and Brassica napus (V. Ivonin), in SE Transbaikalia
the buterflies keeped to the riparian hickets of Dimorphostemon
pectinatus (O. Kosterin, O. Berezina); from other parts of the
range other Brassicaceae were reported, namely Arabis, Barbarea,
Brassica, Descurainia, Draba, Erysimum, Lepidium, Sisymbrium,
Thlaspi; and also Reseda lutea (Resedaceae) and Orostachys
(Crassulaceae). Larva (according to observations of V. Ivonin in
Pribaikalye): 35-40 mm long; greenish or blueish-green with
lengthwise black and orange streaks; the body is covered by black
warts and short black hairs; the head is grey with numerous
black dots and a symmetrical V-like line. Pupa: 20-21 mm; muddy-
grey with sparse black dots.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 20-26 mm. On the hind wing
underside the greyish- or brownish-green ground colour is cleft
between the veins by narrow triangular white spots.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: North Euroasia is occupied by the
nominotypical subspecies. The butterflies from the southern and
steppen regions usually have a lighter ground colour of the hind
wing underside and somewhat narrower dark pattern.
SUBFAMILY ANTHOCHARINAE Tutt, 1896.
F.w.l.: 16-26 mm. The wing upperside is white with a dark
pattern and, sometimes, with orange areas on the fore wing; the
hind wing underside is greenish with light spots of different
sizes, one of which going from the cell to the fore margin. In
our conditions only a single brood develops. The larvae feed on
Brassicaceae; hibernation occurs at the pupal stage.
GENUS ZEGRIS Boisduval, 1836.
Type species: Papilio eupheme Esper, [1805].
A West-Palearctic genus with two species.
87. Zegris eupheme (Esper, [1805]).
TYPE LOCALITY: Crimea: surroundings of the city Sevastopol.
RANGE: NW Africa, Spain, SE Europe, S Ural (the surroundings of
the cities Orsk and Orenburg), N and E Kazakhstan. A local
species.
HABITAT: steppen areas, mostly with chalk outcrops.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late April/early June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in S Europa. Foodplant: only
Hirrschfeldia incana is known. Larva: short, stout, set with
rather long hairs. Pupa: stout; in a frail cocoon.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 20-26 mm. The fore wing apex is
stretched out but not pointed, with an orange spot on a black
background. The hind wing underside is greenish-yellow with
large roundish yellowish-white spots.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: S Ural is inhabited by ssp. eupheme.
GENUS MICROZEGRIS Alpheraky, 1913.
Type species: Pontia pyrothoe Eversmann, 1832.
A monotypical West-Palearctic genus.
Microzegris pyrothoe (Eversmann, 1832).
TYPE LOCALITY: NW Kazakhstan: the valley of the Ural River:
Indersk.
RANGE: Nizhnee Povolzhye [the lower Volga basin], South Preduralye
[the western piedmont plain of Ural], Kazakhstan, Central Asia.
This species has also been reported by H.J. Elwes (1899) for
SW Altai, the village Kenderlik ("south of the Irtysh River"),
according the collection by Ruckbeil, but so far has not been
found within the territory of Russia. A rare species over its
entire range.
HABITAT: in the Volga valley the imagines were
observed near bank bushes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: April and May.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. The fore wing apex is
black with an orange spot; the hind wing underside is greenish-
yellow with several large transversely elongated white spots.
GENUS PARAMIDEA Kusnezov, 1929.
Type species: Anthocharis scolymus Butler, [1866].
A monotypical genus.
88. Paramidea scolymus (Butler, [1866]).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: Primorye northwards to Khabarovsk along the Ussuri valley,
West, Central and North-East China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: forest edges, roads, floodland meadows in broad-leaved
and mixed forests, waste lands at settlements, coastal meadows.
A common species.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late April/early June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1982).
Foodplants: Barbarea, Arabis, Cardamine, Draba, and other
Brassicaceae; in Primorye was observed on Draba sp. and
Descurainia sophia (Beljaev et al., 1989). Eggs: oval, at first
white, later orange, laid singly on the pedicules and fruits of
the foodplant. Larva: green with numerous black dots and white
spiracular line on either side, covered with short hairs, it
feeds on the seeds, fruits, buds and stems of the foodplant.
Pupa: brown, with a longer head projection than in Anthocharis
cardamines, hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 17-21 mm, the fore wing apex is
stretched out and pointed, with a small orange spot in males.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Primorye refer to
ssp. mandschurica Ballow, 1930 and differ from Japanese ones by
smallersize, reduction of the basal suffusion on the wing
upperside, and somewhat smaller and paler orange spot at the
fore wing apex in males.
GENUS ANTHOCHARIS Boisduval, Rambur et Graslin, [June, 1833].
Type species: Papilio cardamines Linnaeus, 1758.
A Holarctic genus with ten species.
89. Anthocharis cardamines (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia northwards (in Siberia) to the
forest-tundra, the Sakhalin, Hokkaido.
HABITAT: river and brook banks, wood edges, glades, various
meadows (including highland ones), wasting lands, fields, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/middle July, in the subpolar and alpine
regions - late June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Cardamine, Alliaria, Arabis,
Barbarea, Brassica, Erysimum, Hesperis, Sinapis, Sisymbrium,
Thlaspi, Turritis and other Brassicaceae, Reseda lutea. Eggs:
elongate, with 13-14 ribs, at first yellowish-white, later
orange, laid singly on the flowers, pedicules and young fruits
of the foodplant. Larva: thin, blueish-green, covered by fine
wrinkles and black dots, on either side with white a stripe at
dark spiracles. It feeds on the flowers petals and fruits of the
foodplant. Pupa: green, yellowish or brown, with much extended
and pointed head; there are a white streak with tiny red dots on
either side; hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 17-25 mm. The wings are of a
common shape; the hind wing underside green with a white marble
pattern; the fore wing apex has black marginal spots extended
along the outer margin; in males the distal parts of the fore
wing is brightly orange.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: This species displays little geographic
variation, which is much less than individual. Nevertheless, the
following taxa has been described for our territory: progressa
Sovinskyi, 1905 (Irkutsk), sajana Verity, 1908 (E Sayan),
sibirica Haanshus, 1920 (W Siberia); septentrionalis Wnukovsky,
1927 (Yakutsk); koreana Matsumura, 1937 (Korea), kobayashii
Matsumura, 1925 (Sakhalin); all they are very close to the
nominotypical subspecies.
GENUS EUCHLOE Hubner, [1819].
Type species: Papilio ausonia Hubner, var. esperi Kirby, 1871.
F.w.l.: 17-25 mm. The wings are white, in females often
suffused with black and, sometimes, yellow scales; the fore wing
apex has a wide black area containing white spots; the orange
spots are absent. The butterflies are very variable
individually and geographically.
A Holarctic genus with nine close species.
superspecies ausonia
F.w.l.: 17-25 mm. The hind wing underside ground colour is
yellowish- or dull-green with a marble pattern of white spots of
more or less rounded shape and various size. A group complicated
with respect of taxonomy, includes about five species. The
taxonomy within the genus was problematic until recently because
of use of the name simplonia Freyer, 1829, which in fact is a
synonym for ausonia, while the butterflies from the Simplon Pass
in the Alps have been described under the name simplonia
Boisduval, 1828, that is now fixed by W.Back (1990, Atalanta,
Bd.21, pp. 187-205).
90. Euchloe (ausonia) ausonia (Hubner, 1799)
(= simplonia Freyer, 1929).
TYPE LOCALITY: North Italy.
RANGE: S Europe, N Africa, Anterior and Central Asia, South and
Middle Ural, Central, West amd South-East Altai Mts.
HABITAT: in Ural: meadow areas in various forests and birch
groves, along wind strips; Rather a rare species. In Altai:
forest and highland meadows at 1600-2300 m above sea level, most
frequently at brook banks.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in S Ural: middle May/August. In Middle Ural the
butterflies of a small spring form fly in June, while soon in July
larger butterflies of a summer form appear, with a greater
yellow suffusion on the hind wing underside. It is not excluded
they are in fact different species. In ALtai: middle June/late
July depending on the locality, in one brood.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe (Back, 1990; other
authors). Foodplants: Barbarea, Sinapis alba, Sisymbrium,
Turritis, and other Brassicaceae. Eggs: spine-shaped, pale-
brown. Mature larva: 30-35 mm in length, green or ochre-coloured
with two wide stripes along either side, sometimes little
expressed, speckled with rather large dark dots, the spiracles
are white with dark rims. Pupa: with the head sharply pointed,
pale brown or ochre-coloured with a dark line along the back and
dark streaks along the anal margin of the wing cases.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 18-25 mm. As different from E.
naina, the fore wing costal margin is white with black marks;
white spots on the hind wing underside are larger; sexual dimorphism is
weakly expressed.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural is inhabited by the subspecies
volgensis Krulikovsky, 1907 described from Saratov by large
summer individuals. The butterflies of a small spring "form"
were described under the name uralensis
Bartel, 1902. Both forms differ from the nominotypical
subspecies, from Central Europe, with an enlarged black discal
spot on the fore wing. Altai is inhabited by ssp. dubatolovi
Korshunov, 1995; the original description is follows:
"... The butterflies from Altai, described below, differ from
the western subspecies by a faded muddy-green hind wing
underside ground colour and smaller white spots. By these and
other traits they look like a peculiar transition (especially
in the population of the Chuya River valley) to E. naina. [In fact
the butterflies from Chuya valley were not mentioned in the
description, they belong to E. naina , that was stated below]) .
HOLOTYPE: a male. F.w.l: 22 mm. The wing upperside is white;
the fore wing apex is suffused with dark scales, the suffusion
containing three white spots; the dark discoidal spot is
crescent-shaped. The fore wing underside is white, the dark
discoidal spot with a contrasted light discoidal vein; the apex
is suffused with dark and green scales and has the same white
spots as on the upperside; the costal margin with short black
striae. The hind wing underside is greyish-green with white spots
of different sizes, mainly with sharp edges.
ALLOTYPE: a female. F.w.l.: 23 mm. The wing upperside is
white; the dark discoidal spot is large, concave on its sides,
and, as different from E. n. naina [an error - must be E.
ausonia ausonia - Yu.K.], is not fused [along suffused veins]
with the apical suffusion, which contains three elongate white
spots.
MATERIALS: the holotype: a male, Altai, Katunskiy mt. range, 15
km SW of village Katanda, interfluve of the Kuragan and Kucherla
rivers, alpine meadow, 2300 m, 13th July 1983 (V.V.Dubatolov
leg.); the allotype: a female, the same locality, 14th July 1983
(V.V.Dubatolov leg.); paratypes: Altai, Ust'-Kan district,
Karlinskiy Pass, 15th July 1970 (Kosinykh leg.); a male - the
same locality as for the holotype, 12th July 1983 (V.V.Dubatolov
leg.); 1 male 1 female - Katunskiy mt. range, the Katun' river
headwaters at the Kapchal river mouth, 1700 m, 9th July 1987
(O.Kosterin leg.); a male - the Kapchal valley, 2300 m, 10th
July 1987 (O.Kosterin leg.); 2 males 1 female - the Katun'
headwaters, stow Altyn-Bulak, an old felled land, 1800 m, 13th
July 1987 (O.Kosterin leg.); a male - Katunskiy mt. range, lower
reaches of the Koksu river, 1600 m, 2th July 1988 (O.Kosterin
leg.); a male - left bank of the Koksu river, long-forb meadow
on wood opening, 1900 m, 12th July 1988 (O.Kosterin leg.); 1
male 2 females - the Argem (Direntay) river (a tributary of the
Koksu) headwaters, an alpine meadow, 2200 m, 21th July 1988
(O.Kosterin leg.); a male, Kholzun mt. range, watershed of the
Tigirek and Khamir river headwaters, 2300 m, 17th July 1983
(V.A.Lukhtanov leg.).
The subspecies is named after the surname of Vladimir
Vladimirovich [must be Viktorovich instead of Vladimirovich -
Yu.K.], an entomologist of ISEA (Novosibirsk) who collected a
part of the type series of the new subspecies. "
91. Euchloe (ausonia) naina (V. Kozhantshikov, 1923)
(= simplonia auct, non Boisduval, 1828; belia auct. non Cramer,
1782).
TYPE LOCALITY: the West Sayan: Lake Buyba.
RANGE: The North of Middle Siberia, Yakutia, the Magadan region,
Kamchatka, the mountains of Bureya (the Ezop mountain range), SE
Altai, the Sayans, including North Mongolia, the mountains of E.
Kazakhstan.
HABITAT: in the mountains of South Siberia mostly highland
meadows, in Altai - forest (rarely), subalpine (most
frequently), and alpine meadows at altitudes of 1600-2300 m,
observed also on barren south slopes at 1600 m above sea level;
in the North - tundras, open larch or Betula ermani (or B.
lanata) woods, steppefied south-exposed slopes, pebble banks, at
altitudes of 200-1600 m.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/middle July. On the Suntar-Khayata
mountain range (Yakutia) a last instar larva was found by
L.I.Popova on Descurainia sophioides (Brassicaceae), which
pupated on 25th of July, 1985, the pupa hibernated, and the
imago hatched on 16th of May, 1986.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO 17-24 mm. The hind wing underside is
dull green with more rounded white spots than in the previous
species; the green colour predominates. In females the wings are
suffused with yellow or black scales, often rather heavily, the
black pattern on the fore wing is enlarged.
GEOGRAPHICAL VAIATION: The subspecies naina ranges in SE Altai,
the Sayans and the mountains of Pribaikalye. In Yakutia, Magadan
Region, and Kamchatka ssp. jacutia Back, 1990 ranges, which
differs by on average smaller size and whitish tint of the
majority of females. The butterflies from Taymyr and the
Putorana Plateau were described as ssp. kuznezovi Korshunov, 1995.
Original description was as follows:
"...Below we describe the butterflies from the Yenisei River
low reaches, Taymyr, and the Putorana Plateau. They are closer
to the subspecies naina than to jacutia, but differ from the
former by in average more narrow wings and a darker hind wing
underside ground colour.
HOLOTYPE: a male. F.w.l: 22 mm. The wing upperside is white;
the fore wing costal margin from the base to the discoidal vein
is suffused with black scales, further to the apex there are
alternating black and white patches along the margin; the
discoidal vein is accompanied by a figured dark spot which is to
some extent more rounded than in E. naina naina. At the apex
there are a dark stripe 2-3 mm wide which is parallel to the
outer margin, and dark spots at the vein endings at the margin;
the space between the stripe and the margin being generally white
while in E. naina naina it is almost fully suffused. On the fore
wing underside the dark discoidal spot is larger than in E.n.
naina. The hind wing underside is almost exactly identical to
that of E.n. naina, but the veins are not so conspicuous.
ALLOTYPE: a female. F.w.l.: 23 mm. On the wing upperside the
white ground colour is almost displaced by a dark suffusion, the
white areas remaining only in the centre and at the edges of the
wing. The hind wing underside ground colour is greyish-green
without a dark suffusion; the veins are not contrasted.
MATERIALS: the holotype - the Yenisey lower reaches, the
Irbo-Keta river middle flow, 18th July 1982 (D.M.Pupavkin leg);
allotype - the same locality, 21st July 1982; paratypes: 5 males
3 females - the Yenisey lower reaches, the Rybnaya river middle
flow, 12th-21st July 1982 a male - the Yenisey lower reaches, the
Togbym river middle flow, 12th July 1982; 14 males 11 females -
the Yenisey lower reaches, the Irbo-Keta river middle flow, 18th
July 1982 (D.M.Pupavkin leg); a male - Taymyr, the Ary-Mas
forest, July 1983 (Polovinkina leg.)
The subspecies being describing was earlier reported
(Korshunov, 1985) as E. ausonia arctica, as it was designated in
the labels by Nikolay Yakovlevich Kusnezov (1873-1948), a well-
known Russian lepidopterologist and zoogeographist of the first
half of this century. "
92. Euchloe creusa (Doubleday and Hewitson, 1847).
TYPE LOCALITY: USA: Newada.
RANGE: The mountains of South, Middle, and East Siberia,
Chukotka, Kamchatka, the mountains of Bureya, Priamurye (the
Blagoveshchensk environs, the Khekhtsir mountain range),
Primorye (the Sasskii District), Mongolia, the north-west of
North America.
HABITAT: in South Siberia: meadows and glades in montane
forests, stone steppes on slopes and in intermontane hollows,
rocks; in the North - open larch woods, steppefied south-
exposed slopes, montane tundras; in Primorye these butterflies were
found in an oak/aspen replacement forest flying together with
Paramidea scolymus
FLIGHT PERIOD: mostly June, locally (C Altai, Kamchatka) up to
middle July. depending on the locality; early May in Primorye.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in N America (Scott, 1986). Foodplants:
Draba lanceolata, Arabis glabra. Eggs are laid singly on the
foodplant; the larvae feed on flowers and fruits. A probably
foodplant in Primorye is Cardamine fritida, the flowers of
which are regularly visited by the imagines.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO F.w.l.: 15-21 mm. The hind wing
underside is dull green with numerous white spots, angular and
irregular in shape, which are streched transversely. Similar
species: E. naina, E. ausonia.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Altai, which differ
from other forms by a yellowish-green ground colour of the hind
wing underside and so representing a clear-cut subspecies, were
described as a "race" emiorientalis Verity, 1911 of Euchloe
belia orientalis Bremer, 1864. The subspecies orientalis Bremer,
1864 ranges in the Sayans, Zabaikalye, the Stanovoe Nagorye
upland, E Mongolia, ?the mountains of Bureya; ssp. kurentzovi
Beljaev, 1986 in North Siberia and Kamchatka; ssp. nemoralis
Beljaev, 1986, was described from the Spassk district of
Primorye.
SUBFAMILIA COLIADINAE Swainson, 1827.
TRIBUS CALLIDRYINI Kirby, 1896.
GENUS GONEPTERYX [Leech], [1815].
Type species: Papilio rhamni Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 25-35 mm. The wing upperside is yellow in males and
whitish in females; the dark outer border is absent; the outer
margin of each wing has a tooth. The pupae have a pointed head, a
blunt prominence on the back of the thorax and a very large one -
on the ventral side at the wing cases; they are usually attached
to leaf underside. The imagines hibernate.
An Eurasian genus with seven species.
93. Gonepteryx maxima (Butler, 1885)
(= rhamni auct.).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: Middle and Low Priamurye (from the city Blagoveshchensk
to the village Troitskoe), Primorye, NE China, Korea,
Japan.
HABITAT: dry open woods, bush thickets, wood edges.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late July/October and, after hibernation, middle
May/June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1982).
Foodplants: in Primorye Rhamnus ussuriensis (Graeser, 1888).
Eggs: cigar-shaped, greenish-yellow; laid singly on the young
leaves of the foodplant in May/June. Larva: green with a white
spiracular line. Pupa: light-green with several brown spots.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 30-34 mm; the fore and hind
wings are of the same colour, yellow in males and light-yellow
in females. The medial spots are relatively large, about 2-2.5
mm in diameter, of orange-red colour. Similar species: G. aspasia.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: On the continent there occurs the
subspecies amurensis Graeser, 1888.
94. Gonepteryx rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: Europe. N Africa, the temperate Eurasia, including the Tian-
Shan, eastwards to S Zabaikalye (Kyakhta) and northwards to
the middle taiga zone.
HABITAT: wood edges, river valleys in deciduous forests, birch
groves in the forest-steppe, woody mountain slopes,
settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: The butterflies appear from late June to middle
August, depending on peculiarities ofthe season, the early
emerged butterflies are capable of summer hibernation
until autumn. Imagines overwinter in various shelters and
appear amongst the earliest butterflies on thaws in March/April.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rhamnus catharia, Frangula
alnus, and the bird cherry (Padus avium) was also reported
(Migranov, 1991; and others). Eggs: conical, yellowish or
greenish, laid singly on the young leaves of the foodplant.
Larva: mat-green with uncontrasted whitish streaks along the
green spiracles. Pupa: green with a light yellow lengthwise
stripe on either side. The pupa is usually attached head-
downwards on the trunks, branches or stems of bushes and herbs.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 26-31 mm. The wings are yellow
in males, greenish-white in females; medial spots is small,
about 1-1.5 mm in diameter, of pale-orange colour.
95. Gonepteryx aspasia (Menetries, 1859).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Amur.
RANGE: Priamurye (downstream to the Gorin River), Primorye,
Central and North-East China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: meadowy openings in valley and montane deciduous woods.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late July/October and, after hibernation,
April/middle May.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1982).
Foodplants: in Priamurye Rhamnus dahurica (Graeser, 1888). Eggs:
at first white, later orange or red, laid on twigs of the
foodplant. The larva resembles to that of G. maxima. Pupa
differs from that of G. maxima by a smaller projection on the
ventral side.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 26-30 mm. In
males the fore wing upperside is bright yellow, the hind wing
upperside is light yellow; the wings of females are greenish-
yellow; the medial spots are small, 1-1.5 mm in diameter.
Similar species: G.maxima.
TRIBUS COLIADINI Swainson, 1827.
GENUS COLIAS Fabricius in Illiger, 1807.
Type species: Papilio hyale Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 19-34 mm. The wing outline is even, without pointed
projections. The wing ground colour varies from white to orange-
red or brownish-green. On the fore and, usually, hind wing there
is a dark outer border often containing light spots. On the
discoidal vein of the fore wing there is a black medial spot,
while on that of hind wing - a light medial spot. The imagines
often display an individual polymorphism but rather a weak
geographical variation. Flight of these butterflies is strong
and impetuous; some species are capable of substantial
migrations.
The larvae of the majority of species are connected
trophically with legumes. The pupae have a pointed head, a blunt
prominence on the thorax back, and a larger one - on the ventral
side at the wing cases. Hibernation occurs at the larval stage.
The genus includes about 70 species, the majority of which are
connected with the mountains of C. Asia, N and S America.
96. Colias palaeno (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden: Uppsala.
RANGE: The tundra, forest-tundra, and forest zones of Eurasia, the
adjacent mountains, the Sakhalin, Japan, NE of North America. In
the southern parts of the range the species is local and rare.
HABITAT: in the northern range: various types of tundras, forest
meadows, open coniferous forests, bogs; in the mountains: the
forest belt up to 1800 m above sea level; in the forest-steppe
zone: raised and transitory bogs (the so-called "ryams" and
"mar's").
FLIGHT PERIOD: mostly late June/late July, in the polar and
mountain regions - until middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Vaccinium uliginosum and V.
myrtillus. Eggs: elongate, with 20 ribs, yellowish, later become
red; laid singly or in small batches on the foodplant leaves.
The young larvae eat the leaf mesophyl and leave veins,
hibernate at the third instar in leaf fall. Last instar larva:
green with bright-yellow lateral streaks outlined above with
black lines; the body is covered with small warts. The larva
just after hibernation eats the buds, later - the leaves. It
usually rests on the central vein of the leaf; being disturbed
it rolls itself into a ring. Pupa: greenish-yellow with darker
wing cases and a yellowish streak along either side of the
abdomen; its stage lasts for about 15 days.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 20-28 mm. In males the wing
upperside is bright or pale yellow, rarely yellowish-white (f.
cretacea Schilde); in females it is white, sometimes yellow (f.
illgneri Ruhl.). In both sexes the black outer border is as a
rule without light spots, sometimes with lengthwise light
strokes between the veins in females. The medial spot on the
fore wing is absent or present as an elongated stroke.
Individual variation is substantial.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: into a great extent is masked by an
individual variation, most greatly expressed in the forest-
tundra zone. Ural, the forest-tundra and forest zones of West
Siberia are inhabited by ssp. palaeno. East of the Enisei River
the subspecies orientalis Staudinger, 1892 (= ?arctica Verity,
1908; = sachalinensis Matsumura, 1925; = karaganica Kurenzov,
1970) is widely distributed, differing from the nominotypical
one by in general smaller size, a bright lemon-yellow ground
colour in males and a wider dark border. The butterflies from
the typical and arctic tundras of Siberia cam be attributed to
ssp. lapponica Staudinger, 1871, described from the northern
Lapland. In these populations lighter males with a narrower
border are predominating. A Korean subspecies sugitani Esaki was
reported for the southern Skihote-Alin' Mountains.
97. Colias erate (Esper, 1804).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Volga basin: Sarepta.
RANGE: The arid and semiarid regions of the temperate and
subtropical Eurasia, in Siberia northwards to the southern
forest-steppe, in the Far East - to the so-called sub-taiga,
i.e. the relatively narrow belt of contiguous deciduous forests
to the south of the coniferous taiga; the Sout Sakhalin, the
South Kuriles, Japan.
HABITAT: montane and lowland steppes, steppefied meadows, waste
lands, fields, settlements, dry open pine and larch forests.
This species is rather rare in Siberia.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in S Ural aswell as in S Primorye in 2-3 broods,
May/September, depending on the cite.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Fabaceae, such as Melilotus
officinalis, Glycirrhiza korshinskyi reported for S Ural
(Migranov, 1991), Trifolium, Vicia, Glycine reported for the
southern Far East (Kurenzov, 1970); sometimes this species
becomes a pest of the soyabean. Eggs: greenish-white, later
become orange. Larva, according to observations in Japan (Fukuda
et a., 1982): greenish-white with a yellow spiracular line and
orange and black dots at the hind margin of each segment,
covered with tiny hairs. In Europe the larva was described
(Mansell, 1987) as velvety green, covered witth small warts and
hairs, the spiracular line is white with a yellowish upper rim
accompanied with reddish strokes, below the line a ground colour
become lighter and black spots of an irregular shape present on
each segment, those on segments 4-10 being smaller than on the
others; the spiracles are white, usually dark-rimmed. Pupa:
light-green, sometimes with a yellowish streak on either side;
black dots scattered over the body concentrate at the margins of
wing cases. Hibernation - either at larval or pupal stage.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 22-30 mm. The wing upperside
is brightly-yellow in males, of the same colour or white (f.
albina Biener) in females; orange males and females (f.
chrisodona Kindermann) are known from S Ural, which resemble C.
croceus. As different from C. hyale, the dark border of the fore
wing reaches the anal edge and (except for males of ssp. erate)
contains isolated spots of the ground colour. The border on the
hind wing is very narrow or split into separate spots. The
medial spot on fore wing is round. The specimens from the
mountains of S Siberia can be distinguished reliably from C.
hyale only by the structure of the male genitalia, in which the
valva is noticeably widened at the middle (see Fig...).
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The nominotypical subspecies is rather
common locally in S. Ural, Kazakhstan and the Altai piedmonts
but hardly penetrates into the West Siberian Lowland. Further
eastwards a group of subspecies ranges which are sometimes
considered as separate species C. polyographus and is
characterized by a presence of light spots on the fore wing dark
border in both sexes. The subspecies polyographus Motchulsky,
1860 proper ranges in Zabaikalye, the southern Far East and the
Sakhalin. The ssp. naucratis Fruhstorfer, 1909 is known by few
findings from S Pribaikalye (the settlement Taezhnyi) and
Prisayanye (the environs of Krasnoyarsk), which is more common
in Mongolia; it differs from polyographus by a smaller size, by
reduction of dark border at the fore wing anal angle and on the
hind wing, that makes this species to resemble C. hyale. The
butterlies from the S Kuriles are known under the name tomarius
Bryk, 1942 (=tokotana Bryk, 1942) and differ from the
continental ones by a paler ground colour and a bleeched border;
the first brood specimens from the Sakhalin are similar to them.
98. Colias hyale (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: S England.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia eastwards to the Prilenskoe
Plateau, the Stanovoe Nagorye upland and E Transbaikalia, in
the North locally reaches the polar regions (the Lower Priobye:
Labytnangi), in the mountains rises up to the tree-line.
HABITAT: meadows of various types, fields, fallow and
waste lands, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in southern parts of the range in 2-3 broods in
middle May/September, in the North - in a single brood in late
June/early July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Fabaceae, such as Vicia,
Coronilla, Chamaecystis, Lotus, Trifolium, and, especially, the
alfalfa (Medicago). Eggs: bottle-shaped with 26-28 ribs,
whitish, later become reddish. Larva: dark-green with a darker
dorsal side, yellow lateral lines and pink spiracles. The larva
of spring/summer brood hibernates in the second instar inside a
silk-spun rolled leaf. Pupa: grey or greenish, with yellow
lateral streaks.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 20-30 mm. In males the wing
upperside is pale-yellow, rarely white (f. albescens Metschler,
1922) or yellowish-orange (f. junior Geest, 1905), in males -
whitish, rarely yellow (f. inversa Alpheraky). In both sexes the
outer border on the fore wing contains large light spots, the
last of them at the anal angle being fused with the light wing
area. As different from a similar species C. erate, in male
genitalia the valva is not widened at the middle (see Fig...).
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: is poorly known in Siberia. The
nominotypical subspecies inhabits Ural and South Siberia; the
taxon altaica altaica Verity, 1911 (type locality - the Chuya
River valley) is very close to it; from Yakutia (the Vilyuy
River) ssp. pallidis Fruhstorfer, 1910 was described, diffeing
by a paler ground colour im males and reduction of the
submarginal dark spots on the wing underside; similar
butterflies are known from Pribaikalye, from where (Irkutsk) the
taxon irkutskana Staudinger, 1929 was described.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: There are no reliable reports of the South-
European species Colias alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905 (=C. australis
Verity, 1911) from Siberia, however, in forest-steppe areas from
S Ural to Pribaikalye larger and brighter specimens with a well
expressed border on the hind wings (external characters of C.
alfacariensis) are found. Moreover the taxon saissanica
Reissinger, 1989, was recently described from Lake Zaissan,
which lies between the Altai and Tarbagatai Mts. (East
Kazakhstan) as a subspecies of C. alfacariensis. Further studied
are needed, including examination of the preimaginal phases by
which these species differ reliably. A mature larva of C.
alfacariensis has two yellow stripes on either side, each
accompanied with a row of ajacent quadrangular black spots
situated on segment hind margins (Henriksen, Kreutzer, 1892).
99. Colias mongola Alpheraky, 1897.
TYPE LOCALITY: Mongolia: Urga (at present Ulan-Bator)
RANGE: The mountains of Mongolia, West China, Central and SE
[Russian] Altai Mts. (known from the Kurayskiy,
Severochuyskiy, Saylyugem, and Katunskiy mountain ranges), Tuva
(Lukhtanov, Likhtanov, 1994), S Pribaikalye (Baranchikov, 1979).
A local species.
HABITAT: short-forb alpine meadows at brook sources, detrituous
ridges with sparse tundra vegetation, at altitudes of 2400-2900
m.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: not studied. Probable foodplant in Altai:
Oxytropis oligantha (Kosterin, 1994a).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 19-23 mm. The wing upperside
is muddy-brownish-green; the dark outer border is wide, containig
a row of elongate yellowish spots; on the hind wing upperside
there is a whitish stroke between the medial spot and the wing
base.
100. Colias tyche Bober, 1812.
(= melinos Eversmann, 1847)
TYPE LOCALITY: Pribaikalye.
RANGE: The polar regions of Eurasia and Alaska, the mountains of
the temperate Asia.
HABITAT: meadow and steppe patches on southern slopes, river
terraces, in the extreme northern regions - willow thickets in
typical tundras; in the Upper Priamurye - raised bogs with
larch, open oak woods on dry slopes (Sviridov, 1981a), in the
mountains - up to 2400 m (Central Altai).
FLIGHT PERIOD: depending on locality, from late May (Zabaikalye)
to August (the Taymyr Peninsula).
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Scandinavia (Henriksen,
Kreutzer, 1983). Foodplants: Astragalus alpinus and Vaccinium
are known from Scandinavia, Oxytropis nigrescens is reported
from Taymyr (Korshunov et al., 1985), Caragana sp. - from Altai
(V. Barkhatov). Eggs: pale-yellow, ribbed, barrel-shaped, laid singly on
the stems and leaves of the foodplant. Larva: green with two
yellow lengthwise stripes on the back and a red line beneath
them and a white spiracular line on either side; the body is
covered with sparse hairs up to 0.8 mm long. It hibernates,
sometimes repeatedly. Pupa: green, yellowish-green, or straw-
coloured, with a slightly darker back.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-28 mm. The wing upperside
is whitish, with yellowish or greenish tint; on the fore wing
the outer border is pale and contains a row of large light
spots, they often fuse to split the border into two parallel
ones. Similar species: C. nastes.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: is mostly masked by an individual
variation. The subspecies werdandi Setterschtadt, 1840,
occupying the extreme North of Europe, belongs in fact to this
species.. North Siberia, from the Yamal Peninsula to the Magadan
Region, is inhabited by ssp. herzi Staudinger, 1901. Besides,
two taxa were described from this area: zemblida Verity, 1911
from the Novaya Zemlya Isles and, by one male from the Okhota
River, relicta Kurenzov, 1970. (According to the opinion of J.
Troubridge, it is identical to the Canadian thula Hovanitz,
1915, which is considered to be a colour morph of Colias boothii
Curtis, 1875 which, in turn, is considered by some authors as a
hybrid between C. hecla and C. nastes.) The subspecies tyche (=
melinos Eversmann, 1847) ranges in Pribaikalye and the East
Sayan, it differs from more northern butterflies by in general
lighter ground colour of the wing upperside. The taxa montana
Verity, 1911 (Altai Mts.), vitimensis Austaut, 1899 (the
Stanovoe Nagorye upland); deckerti Verity, 1909 (Zabaikalye);
chryseis Verity, 1911 (the Upper Priamurye) are very close to
tyche.
101. Colias nastes Boisduval, 1832.
TYPE LOCALITY: the Labrador Peninsula.
RANGE: The north of East Siberia, of the Far East (including
Kamchatka), and of North America. A local species.
HABITAT: shingle banks, steppefied south-exposed bank slopes,
alpinotype meadows and montane tundras.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in North America (Scott, 1986).
Foodplants: Astragalus, Oxytropis, Hedysarum, and also Salix
arctica. A biennial species. Larva: dark-green with small black
dots, two yellowish streaks along the back and a white line on
either side; hibernates twice, in early and the last instars.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-26 mm. The wing upperside
is more strongly suffused with dark and greenish scales than in
C. tyche, the light spots on the border are smaller and do not
fuse to the ground colour. The fore wing underside is ash-grey,
the hind wing underside is yellowish-green.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In the Suntar-Khayata mountain range
and the basins of Yana and Indigirka Rivers the subspecies
jacutica Kurenzov, 1970 (= jacuttica Ferris, 1985; = jacuticola
Weiss et Mracek, 1989) is distributed, which is characterized
by a smoky-brown wing upperside with a wide border with
contrasted white spots on both fore and hind wings; from
Chukotka and the Kolyma basin the subspecies sibirica
Kurenzov, 1970, has been described, the name of which was
preoccupied by Colias aurora sibirica Lederer, 1853, so, this
name was replaced by us with the name dezhnevi Korshunov, 1995
(etymology: Semen Dezhnev - a Russian kazak who first sailed
round the Chukotka Peninsula). In this subspecies the wing
upperside is pale-yellowish-green in males and pale-yellow in
females, on the fore wing the outer border is split by a row of
large light spots into two parallel fragments.
102. Colias chrysotheme (Esper, 1781).
TYPE LOCALITY: Hungary: Cremnitz.
RANGE: The steppen and forest-steppen zones from Central Europe to
East Zabaikalye, the mountains of East Kazakhstan, South Siberia,
and Mongolia.
HABITAT: lowland and montane steppefied meadows up to the
altitude of 2200 m, less frequently - fields and long-fallow
lands. The imagines were observed to feed on Aster alpinus,
Dracocephalum nutans, Brassica.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in South Ural and the forest-steppe zone of West
Siberia in two broods in May and July/August, in Altai and
further eastwards - in a single brood in middle June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Central Europe (Niculescu, 1963;
other authors) Foodplants: Astragalus and Vicia are known. Eggs:
cylindrical with pointed apex; at first white, later become
yellowish. The young larva is muddy-green with a dark head.
Mature larva: green with numerous small lengthwise-directed
reddish strokes and a white lateral line on either side (which
is more distinct in the fourth instar); the ventral prolegs are
greenish-yellow. The larva feeds at night. Pupa: greenish-yellow
with dark markings on the edges of the projections and the wing
cases.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 21-29 mm. The wing upperside
usually is yellowish-orange or orange in both sexes. The yellow
males and females (f. shugurovi Krulikowsky, 1903) and white
females (f. hurlei Aigner-Abafi, 1902) are known from Ural. The
outer border in males is 3-4 mm wide, with conspicuous yellowish
veins throughout its length; in females it is 4-5 mm wide, with
a row yellow spots, which is incomplete on the fore wing. In the
male the androconial spot is absent. Similar species: C.
thisoa, C. croceus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In the southern Ural the nominotypical
subspecies is distributed, South Siberia, from Zauralye to S
Zabaikalye is inhabited by ssp. andre Hemming, 1933 (instead
of sibirica Grum-Grzhimailo, described from the environs of
Krasnoyarsk) differing from the nominotypical subspecies by a
pale orange-yellow ground colour and a wider border. Very
peculiar butterflies of the Altai Mountains, the Sayans, and the
mountains of Tuva, differing from lowland subspecies by a more
even and bright colouration of the wing upperside, narrower
light streaks along the veins in the dark marginal band in males
and darker and more contrasted colouration of females, which
tend to resemble C. thisoa by these characters, were described
as Colias chrysotheme elena P. Gorbunov, 1995. Original
description is as follows:
" MALE: F.w.l. 24.4-27.9 mm (26.2 mm in the holotype). The
wing upperside is light-orange with a narrow yellowish stripe
along the fore wiong fore margin and an area of the same colour
at the anal margin of the hind wing. A slight suffusion with
dark scales is noticeable on the hind wing. The marginal band on
the fore wing in its middle part is 3.5-5 mm wide, usually all
over its length it is cut through with narrow light [streaks
along the] veins, which most often don't reach the fringe. The
maximum width of the marginal band on the hind wing is 2.4-4 mm;
light venal streaks on it are even narrower than on the fore
wing, in some specimens they are hardly seen at the internal
margin of the band. Underside the ground colour of the hind wing
is yellow, that in the central area of the fore wing is orange-
yellow, the pattern is as in the subspecies andre. The genitalia
are alike those in C. chrysotheme andre and C. thisoa [the
statement concerning thisoa is evidently of no relevance -
Yu.K].
FEMALE: F.w.l. 25.5-28.7 mm (27.6 mm in the allotype). The
fore wing upperside is bright orange-red (while in the
subspecies andre they are yellwoish-orange or orange-yellow)
with a dark suffusion in the basal area and at the fore margin.
The marginal band on the fore wing is blackish-brown, 4.8-6.0 mm
wide in its narrowest part, with very contrasted 6-7 yellwo
spots. The black discal spot is large, usually of a triangular
shape. The hind wing upperside is muddy-orange (much darker than
in the females of andre) with an orange discal spot about 2 mm
in diameter. On the hind wing the marginal band contains two
yellow spots at the apex, four other yellow spots interrupt the
band fusing with the ground colour at its internal margin. The
discal spot is oval-shaped, 3.0-3.6 mm long. The wing upperside
ground colour is greenish-yellow, but orange in the central area
of the fore wing. There is a row of 3-5 black spots along the
outer margin of the wore wing. The discal spot on the fore wing
underside is somewhat larger than on the upperside and contains
a light dot. On the hind wing underside just above an oval
silvery discal spot there is an additional small silvery spot.
MATERIALS: The holotype: a male - 29.06.1993, SE Altai, the
village Aktash (V. Barkhatov). The allotype: a female -
26.07.1982, Tuva, Choon-Khem (O. Fileva). Paratypes: 3 males -
2-3.07.1971 , Tuva, the settlement Shuurmak,a steppe (S.
Nikolaev); a female - 25.06.1971, the same locality; a female -
16.07.1980, Altai Mts., the Seminskii Pass (Yu. Korshunov); 2
males - 25.06.1992, SE ALtai, the village Aktash (V. Barkhatov);
14 males 1 female - 27-29.06.1993, the same locality."
103. Colias thisoa Menetries, 1832.
TYPE LOCALITY: Daghestan, the mountain Shakhdag.
RANGE: The mountain regions of Asia Minor, the Caucasus, the Elburs,
Central Asia, East Kazakhstan, Central and SE Altai Mts., Tuva
(the Moren River), the East Sayan (the Mondy village environs).
A local species.
HABITAT: meadowy steppe areas on slopes and plateaux at
altitudes of 400-2400 m, together with C. chrysotheme. The
feeding of imago was observed on the flowers of Dracocephalum
nutans.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Astragalus and Oxytropis are
known from the Caucasus (Nekrutenko, 1990). Hibernation - at the
larval stage.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 22-28 mm. The wing upperside
is orange in males and orange-red in females; in males the outer
border is 2-3 mm wide with weakly dentate inner margin, on which
the veins can be contrasted by orange scales only at the apex;
in females it is 3-4 mm wide and contains a row, usually
incomplete (sometimes absent), of rather small yellow spots, the
hind wing upperside in females is strongly suffused with dark
scales. The androconial spot in males is absent.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: the South Siberian butterflies in
general resemble those from Central Asia, from where the
subspecies aeolides Grum-Grshimailo, 1890 (type locality:
Karategin, Zaalai) and urumtsiensis Verity, 1909 (type locality:
Urumqi) have been described. The butterflies deom the highlands
of Central and SE Altai, as different from those from the
piedmont steppes of W Altai, usually are smaller and have a
narrower border.
104. Colias hyperborea Grum-Grshimailo, 1899.
TYPE LOCALITY: the mouth of the Vilyuy River, the Yana River (at
Verkhoyansk and the mouth of the Adycha River), the Kolyma
valley.
RANGE: The northern Middle Siberia, East Siberia, W Chukotka,
the East Sayan, Pribaikalye, Zabaikalye.
HABITAT: steppe-like south-exposed slopes, edges of larch woods,
bank meadows, shingle banks, in the Ochot coast of the Koni
Peninsula the species was restricted to south-exposed loam
bluffs of the coastal terrace with sparse mesophilous
vegetation with numerous flowers (Kosterin, 1993b).
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: not studied. On the Suntar-Khayata mountain
range oviposition was observed by V.V. Dubatolov on Astragalus
alpinus.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 22-27 mm. The wing upperside
is orange in both sexes. The outer border is uninterrupted in
males and contains a row, usually full, of yellow spots in
females. As different from similar species C. viluensis and C.
hecla, in males there is a pink androconial area at the very
base of the hind wing costal margin.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: poorly studied. From the town
Srednekolymsk environs the taxon viluensoides Verity, 1909 was
described.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: Judging by the presence of the androconial
spot, V.V. Dubatolov (personal communication) stated the taxa
tuncuna Austaut, 1912 (type locality: the Tunkinskie Goltsy
mountain range within the East Sayan) and kurnakovi
Kurenzov,1970 (described by a single specimen from the
Omsukchanskiy mountain range in the Magadan Region as a
subspecies of C. hecla) to belong to this species.
105. Colias viluensis Menetries, 1859.
TYPE LOCALITY: E Siberia, the Vilyuy River.
RANGE: the Putorana Plateau, Yakutia, the Magadan Region,
Pribaikalye, Zabaikalye, the mountains of Bureya, NE Mongolia,
?Chukotka, ?Alaska.
HABITAT: highland and valley meadows, less frequently open larch
stands, montane tundras.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in Zabaikalye and the Upper Priamurye middle
June/middle July. In the northern range the imagines can fly
together with C. hyperborea, but appear 7-10 days later, usualy
in late June.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 22-27 mm. The wing upperside
is bright-orange or orange-yellow (f. sulphureaflava Sheljuzhko,
1918) in males and bright-orange, less frequently white (f. alba
Verity, 1909), in females. The outer border in males is
uninterrupted, about 4 mm wide, in females it usually contain a
full row of yellow or white spots; as different from C.
hyperborea, the androconial spot in males is absent.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The nominotypical subspecies
inhabits the northern part of the range, the subspecies dahurica
Austaut, 1912 ranges in Pribaikalye and Zabaikalye.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: From the Olenyok and Yana River basins the
species C. aquilonaris Grum-Grshimailo, 1899 was described.
According to the original diagnosis (Grum-Grshimailo, 1899) the
main specific feature of this species separating it from C.
hecla consists in dark muddy-yellow colouration of the wing
underside and the wings being wider and of a somewhat different
shape; the outer border is also wider, especially at the fore
wing apex. According to a personal communication of V.V.
Dubatolov, the type of this taxon, preserved in the collection
of the Zoological Institute in St.Petersburg, is conspecific to
C. viluiense.
106. Colias hecla Lefebvre, 1836.
TYPE LOCALITY: Greenland.
RANGE: The polar regions of Eurasia and North America.
HABITAT: lowland dry herbage-grass tundras, on flat elevations
in marshy areas, meadows in river and brook valleys, at willow
thickets; these butterflies were found in the extreme northern
wood Ary-Mas in the Taymyr Peninsula.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Lapland (Henriksen, Kreutzer,
1982). Foodplants: Astragalus alpinus, Trifolium repens
(Fabaceae), Arctostaphylos, Vaccinium (Vacciniaceae), Dryas
octopetala (Rosaceae); in N America (Scott, 1986) - also Salix
arctica (Salicaceae); in the Polar Ural P. Gorbunov observed
oviposition on Hedysarum sp. Eggs: yellowish or orange, barrel-
shaped with about 17 ribs, laid singly or in small batches on
the foodplant. Larva: green with a yellow line on either side, a
dark-green spot on each segment beneath them, and a whitish-
yellow spiracular line; spiracles reddish. Hibernation occurs on
either larval or pupal stage. Pupa: light-green dorsally, dark-
green laterally, with yellowish lateral streaks, light green
wing cases, abdomen may be olive-brown.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-24 mm. The wing upperside
is usually orange, less frequently white in females; the outer
border in males is uninterrupted, in females it contains usually
a full row of yellow spots. As different from C. hyperborea, the
border is in general narrower, the hind wing underside is darker
as being suffused by greenish-grey scales, the nacreous discal
spot has a wider dark-pinkish rim; the androconial spot is
absent in males. Similar species: C. viluensis, C. hyperborea.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from the Polar Ural and
the northern West Siberia are most close to the subspecies
orientis Wnukovsky, 1929 (pro orientalis Grum-Grshimailo,
1893), known from Yakutia, the Magadan Region and Chukotka. From
a Lapland susbspecies sulitelma Aurivillius, 1890 they differ by
in general a wider border, which in females contains smaller and
more clear-cut light spots, alwaus separated from the ground
colour on the fore wings. A report of C. hecla orientalis for
Altai (Rehnelt, 1983 in Nota Lepidoptera 6(4): 244) was based on
both wrong labelling and wrong identification (in fact it was
Colias hyperborea).
107. Colias heos (Herbst, 1792) (pro Papilio aurora Esper,
1781, nec Papilio aurora Cramer, 1780; =sibirica Lederer, 1892).
TYPE LOCALITY: Siberia.
RANGE: This local species ranges from Verkhnee Priobye (the
surroundings of cities Barnaul, Tomsk, in the Novosibirsk Region
at the village Kargat and the Baksa River) through the mountains
of South Siberia and Mongolia to Priamurye, Primorye and NE
China.
HABITAT: various meadows, meadow steppes, in Zabaikalye and the
Far East also rough southern slopes and fields.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/middle July, in the mountains - to
late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants in Primorye: Vicia, Astragalus,
and other Fabaceae, including the cultivated soyabean (Glycine
max) (Kurenzov, 1970). Hibernation at the larval (Priobye) or
pupal (the Far East) stages. The pupa is attached to the
foodplant or herbs with large stems.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 25-32 mm. This is a remarkably
variable species. The wing upperside colouration in males is
orange of various aspects, in females it can be orange, muddy-
orange, sometimes almost black (f. nigra Tshugunov, 1914), white
(f. chloe Eversmann, 1847), or white with a slight dark (f.
obscurissima Verity, 1911) or orange (f. decolorata Staudinger,
1897) suffusion, sometimes salad-green with an orange spot (f.
semenovi Standel, 1960). In any case in both sexes the veins are
to some extent suffused with dark scales. In females the outer
border contains a row of yellow or white spots, which is
incomplete on the fore wing. The males have an orange
androconial area at the hind wing base upperside.
108. Colias myrmidone (Esper, 1781).
TYPE LOCALITY: Hungary: Turnau.
RANGE: Central and Eastern Europe, Middle and South Ural, the south
of the Kurgan and Tyumen' Regions.
HABITAT: forest and forest-steppe meadows, edges of birch or
pine woods. The imagines feed mostly on the flowers of Fabaceae
plants.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in South Ural in two broods in June and August,
respectively; in Middle Ural usually a single brood in middle
June/middle July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Chamaecytisus ruthenicus is
known. Eggs: green. Larva: green with a dark back line and a
light-green line on either side, speckled with dark dots. Pupa:
green with a yellowish lateral stripe on either side and tiny
dark dots on the ventral side of the abdomen; it is usually
attached to a large stem.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w..l.: 23-28 mm. The wing upperside
is orange with noticeable violet bloom in males and orange, less
frequently white (f. alba Staudinger, 1871) or yellow (f.
flavescens Garbowski, 1892) in females. In males the outer
border is 3-4 mm wide with the veins of the same colour, in
females it usually contains a row of seven yellow spots. The
males have a light-orange androconial area at the hind wing base
upperside. Similar species: C. croceus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural and Zauralye are inhabited by the
subspecies ermak Grum-Grshimailo, 1890, differing from the
nominotypical one by a somewhat larger size and a brighter
ground colour. .
109. Colias crocea (Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785).
TYPE LOCALITY: France: Parice.
RANGE: Europe, N Africa, Anterior Asia. The species is capable of
long migrations. In Middle and South Ural and the Kurgan
region the imagines are observable rarely and not every year.
HABITAT: meadows, fields, steppefied areas, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late May/September, in two broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Onobrychis,
Astragalus, Medicago, Cytisus, Coronilla, Chamaecytisus, Lotus, Trifolium,
Vicia, and other Fabaceae. Eggs: spindle-shaped with 24-26 ribs,
yellowish, laid singly on the foodplant. Larva: green, set
with small warts and short hairs, on either side with a yellow
spiracular stripe containing lengthwise red dashes. Pupa:
green with a yellow streak on either side of abdomen, shorter
than in C. hyale.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 24-27 mm. In males and females
wing upperside is yellowish-orange. White females (f. helice
Hubner, 1803) and yellow males (f. erateformis Nickerl) are
known. Outer border in male about 5 mm in width, with veins
suffused with yellow scales, in females it usually contains 3-4
yellow spots. The males have a light-orange androconial area at
the hind wing base upperside. Similar species: C. myrmidone.
110. Colias fieldi Menetries, 1855.
TYPE LOCALITY: the Himalaya.
RANGE: Central Asia, NE China. In South Primorye the only male
was collected by A.V.Tsvetaev on 6th of September 1966 in the
Kedrovaya Pad' Nature Reservation.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 27-30 mm. The wing upperside
is bright yellowish-orange; the border is clear-cut in males,
about 5 mm wide, and diffuse in females, much widened at the
fore wing apex, on the hind wing it is stretched along the
costa; the medial spot on the fore wing upperside is large,
almost round but slightly stretched to the fore margin, the
corresponding spot on the underside containing a nacreous
stroke; the hind wing upperside has a light-orange quadrangular
spot in the centre, clear-cut in males and obscure in females;
the hind wing underside is greenish-yellow with an oval nacreous
medial spot.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The Far East is inhabited by ssp.
chinensis Verity, 1909.
ETYMOLOGY: Genrikh Andreevich Field (1822-1875), a member of the
Russian Entomological Society, a co-author of N.G. Ershov of the
catalogue of Lepidoptera of the Russian Empire (1870).
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