Lemon Migrant (one synonym : Colias jugurthina Godart, 1819) COLIADINAE, PIERIDAE, PAPILIONOIDEA | (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) and Stella Crossley |
(Specimen: courtesy of the
Butterfly House, Coffs Harbour)
The Caterpillar is green with a dark dorsal stripe, and has a pale green head with black dots. The foodplants of this caterpillar are various Australian native species in the family CAESALPINIACEAE, such as :
as well as the exotics :
The caterpillar usually rests lying along the midrib of a leaf, making it very difficult to see.
The pupa is also hard to see, as it closely resembles a leaf. It is green with a pointed head, and often attached upright to a stem of the foodplant by cremaster and girdle.
The adults have a wingspan up to 6 cms. The wings of the male are white with black wingtips, and a yellow blush toward the hinges.
The wings of the female are pale yellow with black edges and spots.
Underneath, the wings are dirty white with dark orange markings.
The eggs are pale yellow and barrel-shaped with ribs. They are laid singly on leaflets of a foodplant.
The species occurs from Madagascar through south-east Asia, including :
and in Australia in:
This species is featured at Coffs Harbour Butterfly House. Butterflies of this species may be purchased for release at weddings etc.
Further reading :
Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia,
CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 291-293.
Johan Christian Fabricius,
Historiae Natvralis Favtoribvs,
Systema Entomologiae (1775), p. 479, No. 158.
Frank Jordan & Helen Schwencke,
Create More Butterflies : a guide to 48 butterflies and their host-plants
Earthling Enterprises, Brisbane, 2005, p. 28.
Ross Kendall,
Images of Butterfly Larvae,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
Metamorphosis Australia,
Issue 55 (December 2009), p. 32.
Buck Richardson,
Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 223.
caterpillar | butterflies | Lepidoptera | moths | caterpillar |
(updated 4 December 2009, 9 August 2024)