Eastern pale clouded yellow
C. e. poliographus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Colias
Species:	C. erate
Binomial name
Colias erate (Esper, 1805)
Synonyms
Papilio erate Esper, 1803 Colias electo ab. kostlani Strand, 1911 Colias erate marnoana f. solilucis Berger, 1953 Colias erate marnoana f. androides Storace, 1956 Colias neriene Fischer von Waldheim, 1823 Colias afghana O. Bang-Haas, 1927 Colias albida Rühl, 1893 Colias androconiata Jachontov, 1910 Colias beckeri Gerhard, 1882 Colias erate edusoides Verity, 1908 Colias erate benesignata Sheljuzhko, 1913 Colias chryseis Röber, 1907 Colias chrysodona Boisduval, 1840 Colias chrysohyaleoides Verity, 1908 Colias chrysopallida Verity, 1908 Colias chrysothemoides Verity, 1908 Colias citronea Mezger, 1932 Colias conjuncta Verity, 1908 Colias costaenigrata Mezger, 1932 Colias diffusa Verity, 1908 Colias flavomaculata Mezger, 1932 Colias garica Verity, 1911 Colias helichta Lederer, 1853 Colias helichta Talbot, 1935 Colias erate erate f. androconiata Jachontov, 1910 Colias hyaleoides Grum-Grshimailo, 1890 Colias erate ab. maculigena Avinoff, 1910 Colias pallida Staudinger, 1861 Colias parva Rühl, 1893 Colias semifaillaei Pionneau, 1928 Colias unimaculata Pionneau, 1928 Colias chrysocoma Grum-Grshimailo, 1893 Colias hera Grum-Grshimailo, 1893 Colias erate gigantea Verity, 1911 Colias erate tania Hemming, 1933 Colias glicia Fruhstorfer, 1910 Colias kachgarica Verity, 1911 Colias poliographus Motschulsky, 1860 Colias simoda de l'Orza, 1869 Colias immamis Verity, 1911 Colias murina Fruhstorfer, 1910 Colias napata Fruhstorfer, 1910 Colias pyxagathus Fruhstorfer, 1910 Colias hyale zuzuki Matsumura, 1908 Colias tokotana Bryk, 1942

Colias erate, commonly known as the eastern pale clouded yellow, is a species of butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is found from south-eastern Europe, through Turkey over central Asia up to Japan and Taiwan. To the south, its range stretches to Somalia and Ethiopia. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1805.^{[1] [2]}

The butterfly flies in May to September in two generations.

The larvae feed on various Fabaceae species, such as Medicago sativa and Medicago, Trifolium, Onobrychis and Melilotus species.

• C. e. erate (Ukraine, Turkey, Lebanon, Bulgaria, Romania, Macedonia, Greece, Hungary, Austria, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kirhizia, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan)
• C. e. amdensis Verity, 1911 (China: Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan)
• C. e. marnoana Rogenhofer, 1884 (Sudan, Ethiopia, south-western Arabia)
• C. e. sinensis Verity, 1911 (Mandschuria, North Korea)
• C. e. formosana Shirôzu, 1955 (Taiwan)
• C. e. lativitta Moore, 1882 (Nepal, northern India)
• C. e. poliographus Motschulsky, 1860 (Mongolia, Japan, Amur, Ussuri, Sakhalin, Tian Shan)
• C. e. tomarias Bryk, 1942 (Kuriles)
• C. e. naukratis Fruhstorfer, 1909 (Altai, southern Siberia, Transbaikalia)
• C. e. nilagiriensis C. & R. Felder, 1859 (southern India)

The wingspan is 23–26 mm. the Central Asian butterflies are generally larger than European ones. C. erate has slightly more pointed wingtips than related species. Like most Colias species, Colias erate has yellow ground colouration. Females with whitish tinged wings are sometimes found in Europe and predominate in Central Asia. The butterflies are extremely variable in their colouring and therefore very difficult to distinguish from similar species of the same genus. The wing tops are lemon yellow in color and have a broad black colored outer edge. Around the wing tip, the black also runs towards the leading edge. In the males the black is strong and only with little or no yellow submarginal spots interspersed, in the females it is pale and moreover includes several such spots. Approximately in the middle of the forewing, slightly offset from the front edge, there is a small black spot. The upper sides of the hind wings are also colored lemon yellow, but lightly dusted with dark. A large part of the outer edge is also darkly edged,but not as broadly. In the females, the black is again significantly paler and in places interrupted by yellow. There is an orange spot in the middle of the wing. The undersides of both pairs of wings are more strongly coloured yellow and slightly dusted with dark olive green. The entire edge is finely reddish edged. The black spot on the forewings is also found on the underside along with a few other submarginal spots along the outer edge. Instead of the orange spot, there is a lighter, reddish-edged spot on the hind wings, bordered by another very small spot. The dark row of submarginal spots on the forewings continues on the outer edge of the hindwings, but is only faintly discernible. ^[3]

Frederic Moore (1882) gives a detailed description for C. e. lativitta:

Male. Yellow: fore wing with a broad unspotted blackish band,the inner border of which is angulated inward at the upper median vein; the band very sparsely yellow-speckled on the anterior veins; discocellular spot large, black: hind wing with a broad blackish crenulated band and a large orange-yellow discocellular spot. Underside olivaceous yellow: fore wing with a black discocellular spot and a distinct discal row of spots: hind wing with a moderate-sized dull pearly-white red-bordered discocellular spot.

Female. Yellow, or white; the band on fore wing broader than in male, and with not very prominent upper and lower yellow spots; the discocellular spot distinct: hind wing darker, with broad marginal band traversed inwardly by large ill-defined yellow spots; discocellular spot brighter red.

Expanse 1 5/8 to 2 2/8 inches.

— Frederic Moore^[4]

• 
  C. e. erate ventral view (male)
• 
  C. e. erate dorsal view (male)
• 
  C. e. erate ventral view (female)
• 
  From Japan
• 
  Feeding on nectar of Rhododendron albrechtii

• Russian Insects poliographus Motschulsky, 1860
• www.lepiforum.de - taxonomy and photos
• www.schmetterling-raupe.de
• Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
• Fauna Europaea