Colias hecla

Lefèbvre, 1836

Hecla Sulphur, Northern Clouded Yellow

A small to medium-sized sulphur of the Pieridae , restricted to high-latitude and high-altitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The shows pronounced in wing pattern, with females displaying distinctive yellow 'windows' interrupting the black marginal band. First described from Greenland, where it occurs without . Multiple are recognized across its fragmented Holarctic range.

Colias hecla by (c) Kristof Zyskowski, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Kristof Zyskowski. Used under a CC-BY license.Colias hecla by the Smithsonian. Used under a CC0 license.Colias hecla by the Smithsonian. Used under a CC0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Colias hecla: //ˈkoʊliəs ˈhɛklə//

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Identification

Distinguished from other Colias by the combination of: (1) high-latitude/arctic-alpine distribution, (2) female wing pattern with yellow 'windows' in black marginal band (not solid), and (3) in Greenland, absence of sympatric . In Scandinavia, C. h. sulitelma may be distinguished from related by geographic range and subtle morphological differences, though taxonomic boundaries remain debated.

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Appearance

Wingspan 36–46 mm. Ground color yellow. Male with solid black marginal band along wing edges. Female with black marginal band interrupted by numerous yellow 'windows,' creating a distinctly broken appearance. in marginal band pattern is the most conspicuous visual difference between sexes.

Habitat

Moist tundra environments. Found at elevations up to 900 m in Fennoscandia.

Distribution

Holarctic with fragmented range: Greenland (type locality); northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland; Alaska, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Quebec, Labrador, Manitoba (Canada); Chukot region, eastern Chukotka, and Russian Far East.

Seasonality

period June to August, varying with location.

Diet

Larvae feed on Astragalus (A. frigidus, A. alpinus), Trifolium repens, and Salix arctica (where Astragalus absent). diet not specified in sources.

Host Associations

  • Astragalus frigidus - larval
  • Astragalus alpinus - larval
  • Trifolium repens - larval
  • Salix arctica - larval utilized where Astragalus absent

Similar Taxa

  • Colias sulitelma C. h. sulitelma sometimes treated as separate ; distinction based on taxonomic interpretation rather than clear morphological or ecological divergence. Geographic overlap in Scandinavia and northwestern Siberia.
  • Colias canadensisSometimes treated as C. h. canadensis; relationship reflects taxonomic uncertainty in Nearctic Colias .

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Sources and further reading