Colias romanovi

[trehopr1]

Here is another really nice Colias species out
of Central Asia. Once again, its my lone example
but, it sure is a dandy species !

Very richly colored in bold hues of orange and
yellows; well, these must really be something to
see in a field.

[bobw]

I've come across this species a few times in Kyrgyzstan. Being one of the larger Colias species it's a very strong flier and very difficult to catch on open mountainsides, it does visit flowers but doesn't stay long, so is long gone after you've struggled up a 45 degree hillside to get to where it was! the main success I had with them was when I found a narrow valley that males regularly flew up, so I waited at the narrowest point for them to come and tried to intercept them as they flew past at about head height - I only got one brief chance at each one.

They are quite variable in colour, the one shown in this post being at the lighter orange end of the range; many of them are much redder. The yellow spots in the forewing apex are also variable and are missing completely on some specimens. Females are big and much redder. It also has a fairly small range, mainly in Kyrgyzstan, but getting into Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.  There is a similar "sister-species", C. erschoffi, in Kazakhstan and north-west China. I'll try to photograph my drawers and share them some time.