David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
__________________________________________________________ Butterflies 110 – Berger’s Clouded Yellows
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
BERGER’S
CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY Colias alfacariensis (f)
Separating Berger’s Clouded Yellow Butterfly Colias alfacariensis from the closely related Pale
Clouded Yellow C. hyale is fraught with
difficulties as the two are essentially indistinguishable in the field.
Examining the shape of the forewings of these lovely butterflies is often
quoted as a method for separating the two, and the putative identifications of
the females shown above have been based on this feature (more rounded, with a
convex leading edge to the wings), the shape and position of the dark wing
markings (these are variable and overlapping) and the locations where they were
photographed (the Ardèche,
South of France in a dry habitat at an altitude of approx. 200 metres above sea
level, and at Daglan in the Dordogne). Doubtless
there will be experts that disagree! Several of the photographs were
deliberately taken using natural backlighting to show the markings of the more
colourful uppersides showing through, as these
butterflies will invariably settle with their wings closed unless engaging in
courtship activities, and a couple of in-flight photographs have been included
to show the upperside markings. There is no doubt
that C. alfacariensis and C. hyale are separate species as the early stages of their
life-histories are entirely dissimilar and confusion is only likely between
adults. It should be remembered that the human visualisation of the surrounding
world is restricted to the visible (for us) spectrum, so we envisage butterfly
colours very differently from the insects themselves. If we could see the
ultra-violet spectrum then the appearance of these ‘sister’ species would be
quite different, as illustrated rather nicely by the plates of this
fascinating scientific publication: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326771379_Distribution_of_Ultraviolet_Ornaments_in_Colias_Butterflies_Lepidoptera_Pieridae, Stella, Fric, Rindos, Kleisner and Pecháĉhek,
2018.
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