Colias myrmidone
{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Danube clouded yellow
| image = Colias_mymidone_-_Nature_Conservation-001-073-g012.jpg
| status = VU
| status_system= IUCN3.1
| taxon = Colias myrmidone
| authority = Esper, 1780
| synonyms =
}}
Colias myrmidone, the Danube clouded yellow, is a butterfly in the family Pieridae.
== Distribution ==
It is found from Western Asia, through Southern Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Hungary up to Austria and the Jura Mountains near Regensburg in Germany.{{update inline|date=September 2024|reason=IUCN states this species is likely now extinct in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, and Slovenia}}
Description
The wingspan is {{cvt|44–50|mm}}. the butterflies of the second generation are often slightly larger than those of the first generation. The wing uppers of the males are bright orange-yellow in ground colour and have a dark edge that is not dusted. The dark border is narrower on the hind wingsand not broken through by veins (in contrast to Colias crocea ). The wing uppers of the females are orange-yellow to greenish-white ( C. myrmidone f. alba ) in colour and have a dark, dusty border. On the hind wings, the spots of the submarginal region often form
a continuous band.In both sexes there is a red spot in the cell on the underside of the hindwing, the underside of the forewing has faint black spots in the postdiscal regionLionel G. Higgins, Norman D. Rilley: The Butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa (A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe). Paul Parey Publishers, 1971, ISBN 3-490-02418-4 .
(MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stará Turá Slovaquie - male dorsal.jpg|Colias myrmidone ♂
(MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stará Turá Slovaquie - male ventral.jpg|Colias myrmidone ♂ △
(MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stará Turá Slovaquie - female dorsal.jpg|Colias myrmidone ♀
(MHNT) Colias myrmidone myrmidone - Stará Turá Slovaquie - female ventral.jpg|Colias myrmidone ♀ △
Biology
The larvae feed on species of the flowering plant in the genus Chamaecytisus including Chamaecytisus ratisbonensis, Chamaecytisus ruthenicus and Chamaecytisus supinus.
Dwarf broom prefers nutrient-poor grassland, as it is quickly overgrown by other plants on fertilized, nutrient-rich soil. But the caterpillars of the butterfly are also dependent on the soil on which their food plants grow being not oversaturated with nutrients. Because if the plants have taken up too much nitrogen from the soil, the caterpillars can not tolerate it and die.
The butterfly flies in May and again from July to August in two generations.{{cite web |title=Danube Clouded Yellow Butterfly - Colias myrmidone - Details - Encyclopedia of Life |url=http://eol.org/pages/174689/details |website=Encyclopedia of Life |access-date=17 August 2018 |language=en}}
==Similar species==
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.lepiforum.de/cgi-bin/lepiwiki.pl?Colias_Myrmidone Taxonomy and photos]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110526044759/http://www.faunaeur.org/full_results.php?id=84707 Fauna Europaea]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2028207}}
Category:Butterflies described in 1780
Category:Butterflies of Europe
Category:Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper
Category:Endangered biota of Europe
{{Pieridae-stub}}