Zerene
Encyclopedia
Zerene is a genus
of butterflies
in the family
Pieridae
commonly called dogfaces. The closest living relative is the genus Colias
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of butterflies
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...
in the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Pieridae
Pieridae
The Pieridae are a large family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing approximately 1,100 species, mostly from tropical Africa and Asia. Most pierid butterflies are white, yellow or orange in coloration, often with black spots...
commonly called dogfaces. The closest living relative is the genus Colias
Colias
Colias is a genus of butterflies in the family Pieridae. They are usually called clouded yellows; the North American name "sulphurs" is elsewhere used for Coliadinae in general. The closest living relative is the genus Zerene, which is sometimes included in Colias.This genus occurs throughout the...
.
Species
- Zerene cesonia (Stoll, 1790) – Southern Dogface
- Zerene eurydice (Boisduval, 1855) – California Dogface