Clouded Yellow
Colias croceus
The Clouded Yellow is a fairly distinctive butterfly, marigold yellow on the upperwings and a yellow-green on the underwings. The upper wings are bordered with black. Although a view of one with its wings close may recall Brimstone, the two species have very different wing shapes. A pale form exists and females of this form resemble the very much rarer Pale Clouded Yellow and Berger's Clouded Yellow.
Clouded Yellows will use a range of leguminous plants, including both wild and cultivated clovers, Bird's foot Trefoil and Lucerne. The butterflies often congregate in places where the larval foodplants grow and within southern England, chalk downland is often favoured. There has been a substantial increase in the numbers of individuals reported in recent years and, although this may reflect an increasing interest in butterflies, results from monitoring schemes suggest that this species has become more common and widespread
Nearly all our Clouded Yellows arrive during spring from southern Europe. These individuals will range widely across the countryside and may be encountered just about anywhere accross the southern half of Britain and Ireland.
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