Zerene cesonia

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Zerene cesonia
Southern Dogface butterfly (36319922440) .jpg

Zerene cesonia

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Whitelings (Pieridae)
Subfamily : Yellowlings (Coliadinae)
Genre : Zerene
Type : Zerene cesonia
Scientific name
Zerene cesonia
( Stoll , 1790)
Wing underside
Occurrence areas
Butterfly visiting flowers

Zerene cesonia ( synonym : Colias cesonia ) is a butterfly ( butterflies )found in North, Central and South Americafrom the family of white flies (Pieridae).

features

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of 54 to 76 millimeters. There is a sexual dimorphism between the sexes in some forms . In the males, the basic color on the upper side of the forewing is black-brown. The disk region is yellow and extends in the middle to the post- disk region . A large black discal spot stands out clearly. Some viewers are of the opinion that the yellow drawing with the black eye-like discal spot resembles the profile of a dog's face, which is why this southern species is called the Southern Dogface in English . The edge area on the yellow upper side of the hind wing has a black-brown color. One or two orange yellow discal spots stand out only indistinctly. Both wing undersides are yellow. On the underside of the forewing, a black, white pithed discal spot stands out. The hind wing underside shows two connected white central spots in the form of an 8, which are bordered in brown. Females in most cases resemble the males in terms of basic color and drawing, but are somewhat paler in color. Occasionally there are specimens whose upper side of the forewings is solid yellow except for narrow areas at the apex. On the undersides of the wings, the specimens of the rainy summer season are yellow, while those of the dry winter season show light blackish and pink marbling on a yellow background.

Egg, caterpillar, pupa

The eggs have the shape of an elongated ellipsoid of revolution , a creamy white color and faint longitudinal ribs. Young caterpillars are colored green and show a white side stripe. When fully grown, they are marked with black and yellow transverse lines on each body segment. The doll is designed as a belt doll and initially has a grass-green color, from which a few small black dots and a gray side line stand out. Shortly before hatching, the wing pattern already shines through the wing sheaths.

Similar species

Zerene eurydice (English called California Dogface ) differs in that the yellowish area around the discal spot on the forewing side has a light purple iridescent shimmer and the black-brown submarginal region is very broad. The species occurs exclusively in California .

Distribution, subspecies and habitat

The range of occurrence of the species extends from Texas , Arizona and Florida through Central America and along the South American west coast to Argentina . In addition to the nominate form Zerene cesonia cesonia , another five subspecies are listed in South America .

Zerene cesonia primarily inhabits open grasslands, prairie areas , dry shrubbery zones , pastureland, as well as light forests and roadsides.

Way of life

The moths fly three generations a year in the southern United States and several generations year round in South America. Individual moths that migrate to the northern regions as far as Canada do not reproduce there. Both sexes like to suckle on flowers for food intake, for example on alfalfa ( Medicago sativa ), girl's eyes ( Coreopsis ) or verbena ( Verbena ). Sometimes they also seek out damp places in the earth to take in fluids and minerals. The females lay the eggs on the underside of the food plants. The caterpillars live individually and feed on the leaves of various legumes (Fabaceae), including bastard indigo ( Amorpha fruticosa ), soybeans ( Glycine max ) and Dalea purpurea .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Southern Dogface at Butterflies and Moths of North America
  2. ↑ James A. Scott: The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-1205-0 , pp. 201/202
  3. ↑ Markku Savela: Tanaecia Butler (1869) - distribution. In: Lepidoptera and some other life forms. Retrieved January 22, 2019 .

literature

James A. Scott: The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California 1986, ISBN 0-8047-1205-0 , pp. 201/202

Web links

Commons : Zerene cesonia  - collection of images, videos and audio files