Colias scudderi scudderi

Photo Life History:  Colias scudderi scudderi

Habitat: Arctic Alpine

Host Plants: Salix planifolia

Suitable Lab Host Plants: Salix exigua (Post-diapause)

Caring for Live Female Butterflies:  Feed females regularly

Methods of Female Oviposition:  Portable Cages; Open Screen Cages

How to Find Eggs:

How to Hatch Eggs:  Separate eggs individually; Keep egg on original leaf

How to Find Caterpillars in the Field: 

Caterpillar setups:  Open terrariums;

Larva to Pupa:  Last instar larva constructs a cremaster and girdle.

How to Find Pupae in the Field:

Number of Broods per Year: 1

Overwintering Stage:  Third Instar Larva

Overwintering Strategies: Alpine Overwintering Technique

Post-Hibernation Strategies:  Provide larvae with fresh host plant.

Avoiding Diapause Techniques:  Not generally productive.  When exposing larvae to 24 hours of light, a very small percentage fed through to adult.  (See Field Notes below.)

Disease Prevention:   Change out host plant and remove frass every two to four days.  Jack Harry notes that Colias larvae can get sick if not properly taken care of in the lab.

Emergence:  Emergence Container

Field Notes:  Nicky Davis reared this butterfly and here are her notes from 2008. 

Two females located by Todd Stout on Murdock Mountain. On July 27, 2008, Jack Harry, Les Davis and I located two females past mm 27 along the Mirror Lake Highway, Duchesne County, Utah.  All females were returned to the same area after we obtained these eggs. N. 40.40.881, W. 110.55.165  Elevation 10,349 feet

Ova
These females oviposited 160 ova on an unknown Vaccinium within a couple of days.  They hatched after four days.

Larva
We put the larvae on Salix exigua (Brush Willow)  which they refused to feed on, and all but 50 died.  We  moved the surviving 50 larvae to Diamondleaf Willow, Salix planifolia  which was growing at the same location in which the females were flying.  The larvae fed on that plant just fine.  I kept them under light 24x7, nevertheless they all hibernated except one.

Host
The females oviposited on an unknown Vaccinium and the larvae fed on  D. Willow - Salix planifolia.  After hibernation, they fed on Salix exigua.