Horseshoe clover yellow

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Horseshoe clover yellow
Horseshoe clover yellow (Colias alfacariensis) ♂

Horseshoe clover yellow ( Colias alfacariensis ) ♂

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Whitelings (Pieridae)
Subfamily : Yellowlings (Coliadinae)
Genre : Colias
Type : Horseshoe clover yellow
Scientific name
Colias alfacariensis
Ribbe , 1905
Horseshoe clover yellow ( Colias alfacariensis ) ♀
Top of the Horseshoe Yellow Fling ♀

The horseshoe clover or southern hay butterfly ( Colias alfacariensis ) is a butterfly ( migratory butterfly ) from the family of white flies (Pieridae) in the subfamily of yellow flies .

features

Characteristics of the adults

The wings of the male horseshoe clover have a yellow base color, those of the females have a greenish-white base color, only the underside of the hind wings is yellowish. The upper side of the wing of both sexes has a dusted dark brown to black band at the edge, whereby this is only narrow on the hind wings. In the cell of the forewings there is a black spot on the top and bottom. The males have an orange spot with a red border on the upper side of the hind wings in the cell, on the underside this spot is brightly and more clearly bordered in red. This spot can be divided into two by the red border so that it resembles an eight, similar to other yellowlings of the genus Colias . In females, the orange spot on the upper side of the hind wings is not bordered.

Characteristics of the caterpillars

The caterpillars of the yellow horseshoe clover, on the other hand, differ significantly from the caterpillars of the golden eight after the second molt. Both caterpillars are green, but the caterpillar of the yellow horseshoe clover has four conspicuous yellow lines with black dots, while the caterpillar of the golden eight has only two thin side lines.

The caterpillars overwinter and pupate in the following spring as a greenish-yellow belt pupa .

Similar species

The yellow horseshoe clover ( Colias alfacariensis ) forms a species complex together with the golden eight ( Colias hyale ). Since the moths of both species develop many variations, the two species cannot be differentiated either habitually or on the basis of a genital examination . Information about the habitat and the geographical distribution only provides an indication of which of the two species it may be. A reliable distinction is only possible using the completely different habitually caterpillars.

distribution

The horseshoe clover is common in Europe from Portugal to Kazakhstan , although it seems to be absent in parts of Eastern Europe . The northern distribution ends in Central Europe . He sometimes appears as an immigrant in the North German Plain , southern England and Denmark .

The moth of the horseshoe vetch Yellow compact is rich in lime lean and dry grassland found in dry veldt or forest fringes if there occur the food plants of the caterpillars. The moths avoid cool and rainy areas.

Way of life

The caterpillar of the horseshoe vetch Yellow Ling lives exclusively in Colorful crown vetch ( Coronilla varia ) and horseshoe vetch ( Hippocrepis comosa ) on which the female lays the eggs well.

Flight and caterpillar times

The horseshoe clover flies in two generations in May, June and August, September or in three generations from May to October.

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Lionel G. Higgins and Norman D. Rilley, Die Tagfalter Europas und Nordwestafrikas (A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe) , Verlag Paul Parey 1971, ISBN 3-490-02418-4
  2. ↑ www.lepiforum.de : Artkomplex Colias hyale (Linnaeus, 1758) and C. alfacariensis Ribbe, 1905 , accessed on August 25, 2006
  3. ↑ a b Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald: The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg Volume 1, Tagfalter I. Ulmer Verlag Stuttgart 1993. ISBN 3-8001-3451-9

Web links

Commons : Horseshoe-clover-yellow  -album with pictures