Cold Weather Form of Colias eurytheme
Leptraps at aol.com
Leptraps at aol.com
Sun Aug 26 22:42:29 EDT 2001
As a teenager growing up in northeast Ohio, one of the last butterflies we
would collect each year were the extremely dark forms of Colias philodice and
Colias eurytheme. These usually where on the wing after a frost or freeze on
a warm day in late October through December. They usually have considerable
green on the underside of the hindwings.
The following spring, we would collect them again, in mid-April as soon as
the weather warmed up. However, the males always looked like hybrids between
Colias eurytheme and Colias philodice.
Forty years later I am still finding the same things. During the Society of
Kentucky Lepidopterists spring field meeting at Red River Gorge in the Daniel
Boone National Forest, I collected several females of Colias eurytheme and
they oviposited on White Sweet Clover. When the adults emerged in mid-May,
they where 95% eurytheme with only a few hybrids (Some Yellow) I collected
several males of C. eurytheme to mate with my reared females. ( I am not much
for Greek Tragedies) The next generation and all of those that have followed
are 100% C. eurytheme. No hybrids. Also, of the almost 500 individuals that I
have reared, not one white morph of the female.
Several days ago I collected a dozen white females of both Colias philodice
and Colias eurytheme and I now have several hundred ova. Will these produce
more white females?
I believe that I have one more generation and then will I see the cold
weather form? Or does the cold weather form only exist as hybrids?
All of the Colias philodice that I have reared, I have never seen a white
female nor have I seen a hybrid. Also, I cannot get males of Colias eurytheme
to mate with females of Colias philodice or vise versa.
Has anyone else reared the winter form of either?
Cheers,
Leroy C. Koehn
202 Redding Road
Georgetown, Kentucky
USA 40324-2622
Tele.: 502-570-9123
Cell: 502-803-5422
E-mail: Leptraps at aol.com
"Let's get among them"
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