Butterfly - side view - Colias philodice

Clouded Sulphur

Extensive overscaling of hindwing and although damaged, faint PM HW spots.

Moved from Colias.

… Cliff Ivy, 17 December, 2016 - 7:49pm

Moved

… John S. Ascher, 22 May, 2016 - 9:59am

Colias gigantea?

Hello,

Ths is a little late, but I may have some info to solve this riddle. Given the late date of your photo, the heavy black scaling present on the leading edge of the forewing visible in the photo and the faint pink spots in the outer portion of the hindwing, I would venture that this is actually a late season female orange sulfur (Colias eurytheme).

Colias eurytheme is a transcontinental legume feeder and is very fond of mixed agricultural areas where alfalfa and clovers abound. It frequently interbreeds with another transcontinental weed, the clouded sulfur (Colias philodice), with intergrades running the gammut from clear yellow to orange dorsally.

Without seeing the upper surface, this by no means definitive, but Colias gigantea typically flies from June through July and is gone by mid-August in most areas where is occurs. Most southern Manitoba populations have clear yellow hindwings ventrally and would be substantially larger than a cabbage butterfly. Late season orange sulfurs often have extensive pink scaling on the wing edges and an increase in ventral black scaling, giving them a greenish cast, like Colias alexandra or northern Colias gigantea populations.

Hope this helps!

Jim

… Jim Bess, 4 December, 2006 - 12:35pm

Colias

According to my butterfly guide (Brock and Kaufman) it seems to be Pink-edged Sulphur, Colias interior. It is very common in most of Canada.

… Beatriz Moisset, 22 September, 2004 - 12:06pm

Thanks

Thanks, Beatriz. that certainly seems to be the one.

The only thing that doesn't seem to match is the larval hostplant. Lots of Hawkweed and Sarsaparilla around for the adults, but this is prairie/poplar bluff/cropland - no Vaccinium (blueberry) plants within a hundred miles at least.

… Doug Harper, 23 September, 2004 - 11:05am

Giant Sulphur

I think this might be a Giant Sulphur, Colias gigantea instead. It resembles Pink-edged quite closely, but is somewhat larger (as you could probably guess from the name) and can have a smaller white spot near the main white spot on the hindwing (as seen in this photo). This smaller spot is not present in Pink-edged, according to Brock and Kaufman. As well, Giant feeds on willows, which may be more likely to be in the area where you took this shot.

(Edit: looking at the photo again, is that a willow it is perched on?)
(Another edit: I've now moved to Giant Sulphur)

… Joel Kits, 13 January, 2005 - 8:09pm