Colias electo
Encyclopedia
Colias electo, the African Clouded Yellow or Lucerne Butterfly, is a butterfly
of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa
, as well as Arabia. The wingspan
is 35–40 mm (1.4–1.6 ) for males and 32 millimetre for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August. The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Trifolium, Vicia
and Robinia pseudoacacia.
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Lycaenidae
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found in eastern and southern Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, as well as Arabia. The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 35–40 mm (1.4–1.6 ) for males and 32 millimetre for females. Adults are on the wing throughout the year, with a peak from April to August. The larvae feed on Medicago sativa, Trifolium, Vicia
Vicia
Vicia is a genus of about 140 species of flowering plants commonly known as vetches. It is in the legume family . Member species are native to Europe, North America, South America, Asia and Africa. Some other genera of their subfamily Faboideae also have names containing "vetch", for example the...
and Robinia pseudoacacia.
Subspecies
- Colias electo electo – South Africa, southern Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Zambia
- Colias electo hecate Strecker, 1905 (Angola, southern Zaire, northern Zambia and north-western Malawi
- Colias electo pseudohecate Berger, 1940 – Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, eastern Zaire, Rwanda, Burundi, southern Sudan, southern Ethiopia and northern Somalia
- Colias electo meneliki Berger, 1940 – central and northern Ethiopia and Eritrea
- Colias electo philbyi Berger, 1953 – southern and western Arabia
- Colias electo manengoubensis Darge, 1968