David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
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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)
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 identification of
the female shown above has 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 location where she was
photographed (the Ardèche,
South of France) in a dry habitat at an altitude of approx. 200 metres above
sea level. 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. 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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