Mountain Clouded Yellow (Colias phicomone) | Species | ||||||||
 Taken in the Vercors Natural Park, France, on July 24th 2018. (1/1000th sec at f14. © David Hastings) DescriptionFamily: Pieridae Wing span: 40 - 50mm The male Mountain Clouded Yellow has greenish-yellow upper surfaces, heavily dusted with grey. The hindwing underside is yellowish-green with a white spot bordered with red. Upper surfaces are rarely seen at rest. It occurs in Europe in mountainous areas: Cantabrian Mountains, the Pyrenees and Alps. It is a European endemic. It is found in alpine and sub-alpine meadows and pastures and mountain slopes, usually between 1000 and 2500m. There is usually one generation a year from June to August, but in some years there is a partial second brood. The caterpillars hibernate after their second moult. Various leguminous plants are used as larval foodplants, including Horseshoe Vetch, White Clover, Common Birdsfoot-trefoil and vetches. It is classed as Near-threatened in Europe owing to population decline. Sightings
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