Greek Clouded Butterfly

Appearance

''Colias aurorina'' is one of the largest species of the genus; the wingspan is 35–70 mm. The upperside of the male is dusky
orange -yellow, with moderately broad blackish brown marginal band which is traversed at the apex by yellow veins, the rather large middle spot of the forewing being blackish brown and that of the hindwing large and orange-red. The ground-colour of the female is somewhat brighter red, the dark marginal band bearing large yellow spots, which on the hindwing form a proximally dark-edged band, the dark marginal band being obsolescent.

Naming

*''C. a. aurorina'' Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Talysh, N. Iran, Turkey
⤷ ''C. a. libanotica'' Lederer, 1858 Considered by some authors as a subspecies of ''Colias aurorina'' or as a distinct species. Israel, Lebanon, Turkey
⤷ ''C. l.'' ''heldreichi'' Staudinger, 1862 Greece
⤷ ''C. l.'' ''sovarensis'' Blom, 1979 Iran
⤷ ''C. a. daghestanica'' Verhulst, 1994 Daghestan, Armenia
⤷ ''C. a. kermana'' Eckweiler, 1979 Iran
⤷ ''C. a. rosei'' Gross & Ebert, 1975 N.Iran
⤷ ''C. a. taurica'' Rebel, 1901 Turkey
⤷ ''C. a. transcaspica'' Christoph, 1889 Turkmenistan

Behavior

The butterfly flies from May to July.

The larvae feed on ''Astracantha'' and ''Astragalus'' species.