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Sulphur

Colias spp.

Photo by tomk3886
Published on Project Noah
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39.93, -106.14

Field Notes

Description:

Yellow with a few spots on the lower side of the wings. Upper side of wings yellow with segmented brown band and thin yellow margin on the posterior edge.

Habitat:

Found on Alpine Aster flowers in an open conifer forest.

Notes:

The bottoms of the wings look just like the Sulphurs that are just now showing up in my garden.

Species ID Suggestions

Willow sulphur

Colias scudderii

Reference Link
Brian38
1

Comments (4)
Brian38
Hopefully, more people will chime in with more thoughts and suggestions. It's one we don't see very often on PN. Great spotting.
tomk3886
Thanks Brian. I think I'll just leave it as Colias spp. for now. The variations in color and pattern of many butterflies often leaves my head spinning.
Brian38
Tom, I could easily be wrong with my suggestion. Colias scudderii fit the range and the images I saw looked like a match. It's on the wing for a relatively short time. June thru August.
tomk3886
The undersides of the wings aren't very green. The nearest creek with willows is at least a quarter mile away also. You're probably right but why did you settle on this species? There are others with the brown border.

Spotted for Missions

Diversity of arthropods
Mission
Butterflies & Moths of the World
Mission
Pollinating Insects of the World

Tags

Photographed
PublishedAugust 27, 2021

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