1. Guides
  2. Butterflies of Fundy National Park of Canada / Les papillons du parc national du Canada Fundy
  3. Clouded Sulphur

Clouded Sulphur

Colias philodice

Summary 6

The Common or Clouded Sulphur (Colias philodice) is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae.

General description 7

This is our most common sulphur. The submarginal spots along the fore- and hindwing underside and lack of orange on the forewing upperside will generally distinguish this species. The underside discal spot is double-ringed, giving it a 'halo' effect. The spring generation tends to be smaller and darker. The subspecies status of our populations is unclear; they have been variously assigned to the nominate form (Layberry et al. 1998) or eriphyle (Guppy & Shepard 2001). It may be best not to assign a subspecies (Bird et al. 1995) until further study sheds light on this situation.

Distribution 8

As currently defined, this species is distributed over much of North America, ranging from Alaska south to Florida and northern Mexico. There is also an isolated population in the highlands of Guatemala (Opler 1999).

Habitat 9

Found in open areas throughout the province, from prairie grasslands to alpine meadows.

Migration 10

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Flowering plants visited by colias philodice in illinois 11

Colias philodice Godart: Pieridae, Lepidoptera
(observations are from Robertson, Graenicher, Betz et al., Hilty, Fothergill & Vaughn; this butterfly is the Clouded Sulfur; because Robertson and Graenicher did not distinguish Colias philodice from Colias eurytheme, some of their observations undoubtedly apply to the latter species; the common name of this latter butterfly is the Orange Sulfur)

Alismataceae: Sagittaria latifolia pist sn; Apiaceae: Cicuta maculata sn (Rb), Eryngium yuccifolium sn (Rb), Osmorhiza longistylis sn (Rb), Zizia aurea sn (Rb); Asclepiadaceae: Asclepias incarnata [plpr sn] plup sn, Asclepias purpurascens plab sn, Asclepias sullivanti plpr sn, Asclepias syriaca plab, Asclepias tuberosa plpr sn, Asclepias verticillata plab; Asteraceae: Antennaria plantaginifolia [stam sn] pist sn, Anthemis cotula sn (Gr), Arctium lappa sn (Gr), Arctium minus sn (Rb), Aster furcatus sn (Gr), Aster laevis sn (Gr), Aster lanceolatus sn (Rb), Aster novae-angliae (Rb, Gr, H), Aster pilosus sn fq (Rb), Aster prenanthoides sn (Gr), Aster puniceus sn (Gr), Aster salicifolius sn fq (Rb), Bidens aristosa sn (Rb), Bidens cernua sn fq (Rb), Boltonia asterioides sn (Rb), Cirsium hillii sn (Rb), Cirsium vulgare sn (Rb), Conoclinium coelestinum sn fq (Rb), Coreopsis palmata sn (Rb), Echinacea pallida sn (Rb), Echinacea purpurea sn (Rb), Eupatoriadelphus purpureus sn (Rb, Gr), Eupatorium perfoliatum sn (Rb), Eupatorium serotinum sn (Rb), Euthamia graminifolia sn (Rb, Gr), Helenium autumnale sn (Rb), Helianthus divaricatus sn (Rb), Helianthus giganteus sn (Gr), Helianthus grosseserratus sn (Rb), Helianthus mollis sn (Rb), Helianthus strumosus sn (Rb, Gr), Helianthus tuberosus sn (Rb), Heliopsis helianthoides sn (Gr), Krigia biflora sn (Rb), Liatris aspera sn (Rb), Liatris pycnostachya sn fq (Rb), Liatris spicata sn (Gr), Ratibida pinnata sn (Gr), Rudbeckia hirta sn (Rb), Rudbeckia subtomentosa sn (Rb), Rudbeckia triloba sn (Rb), Silphium laciniatum sn fq (Rb), Silphium perfoliatum sn (Rb), Solidago canadensis sn (Rb), Solidago nemoralis sn (Rb), Tanacetum vulgare sn (Gr), Vernonia fasiculata sn (Rb); Boraginaceae: Lithospermum canescens sn fq (Rb); Brassicaceae: Cardamine bulbosa sn (Rb); Caprifoliaceae: Symphoricarpos occidentalis sn (Gr); Caryophyllaceae: Cerastium nutans sn (Rb); Fabaceae: Astragalus crassicarpus trichocalyx sn np (Rb), Dalea purpurea sn (Rb), Lespedeza capitata sn np (Rb), Lespedeza virginica sn np (Rb), Trifolium pratense sn (Rb, FV), Trifolium repens sn (Rb); Geraniaceae: Geranium maculatum sn (Rb); Lamiaceae: Blephilia ciliata sn (Rb), Blephilia hirsuta sn fq (Rb), Glechoma hederacea sn fq np (Rb), Lycopus americanus sn (Rb), Monarda fistulosa sn (Rb), Nepeta cataria sn (Rb), Prunella vulgaris sn (Rb), Pycnanthemum tenuifolium sn (Rb), Teucrium canadense sn (Rb); Liliaceae: Camassia scilloides sn fq (Rb), Erythronium albidum sn (Rb), Nothoscordum bivalve sn (Rb); Lythraceae: Lythrum alatum sn (Rb); Malvaceae: Hibiscus trionum sn (Rb), Sida spinosa sn (Rb); Oxalidaceae: Oxalis violacea sn (Rb); Polemoniaceae: Phlox divaricata laphamii sn (Rb), Phlox glaberrima sn (Rb), Phlox pilosa sn fq (Rb), Polemonium reptans sn fq (Rb); Polygonaceae: Persicaria pensylvanica sn (Rb); Pontederiaceae: Pontederia cordata sn (Rb); Portulacaceae: Claytonia virginica sn (Rb); Ranunculaceae: Delphinium tricorne sn np (Rb), Ranunculus fascicularis sn (Rb); Rosaceae: Fragaria virginiana sn (Rb), Rubus allegheniensis sn (Rb), Rubus flagellaris sn (Rb); Rubiaceae: Cephalanthus occidentalis sn (Rb); Salicaceae: Salix nigra stam sn; Scrophulariaceae: Agalinis tenuifolia sn np (Rb), Collinsia verna sn np (Rb), Linaria vulgaris sn np (Rb), Lindernia dubia sn (Rb), Penstemon digitalis sn np (Rb), Physostegia virginiana sn np (Rb); Verbenaceae: Phyla lanceolata sn (Rb), Verbena hastata sn (Rb), Verbena stricta sn (Rb); Violaceae: Viola cucullata sn (Rb), Viola pedata sn (Rb), Viola pubescens sn (Rb), Viola sagittata sn (Rb), Viola striata sn np (Rb)

Insect activities:
fq = frequent flower visitor (about 6 or more visits reported)
np = non-pollinating
sn = sucks nectar

Scientific observers:
(Btz) = Robert Betz et al.
(Gr) = S. Graenicher
(H) = John Hilty
(Rb) = Charles Robertson

Behaviour 12

Clouded sulphurs use visual cues and pheremones to communicate with each other.

Communication Channels: visual ; chemical

Other Communication Modes: pheromones

Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical

Conservation status 13

Not of concern.

Threats 14

Degree of Threat: D : Unthreatened throughout its range, communities may be threatened in minor portions of the range or degree of variation falls within natural variation

Taxonomy 15

Comments: Although this species hybridizes with COLIAS EURYTHEME, it is considered distinct.

Sources and Credits

  1. (c) Dan Mullen, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/8583446@N05/4960365598
  2. (c) Beatrice LaPorte, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2676/3993024785_b53915f5dc_b.jpg
  3. (c) David Bygott, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5223/5656620638_9fe643ca07.jpg
  4. (c) Bill Bouton, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://butterfliesofamerica.com/images/Pieridae/Coliadinae/colias_p_philodice/Colias_p_philodice_F_Breedsville_21-IX-07_44.jpg
  5. (c) Bill Bouton, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://butterfliesofamerica.com/images/Pieridae/Coliadinae/colias_p_philodice/Colias_p_philodice_F_Breedsville_MI_5-VI-03_W_45.jpg
  6. (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colias_philodice
  7. (c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884809
  8. (c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884808
  9. (c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884810
  10. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28795275
  11. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/32697652
  12. (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31386994
  13. (c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884806
  14. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28795270
  15. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28795265

More Info

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

iNaturalist.ca Map

Member of the iNaturalist Network   |   Powered by iNaturalist open source software |   Documentation for developers