Lesser Clouded Yellow
CR

Lesser Clouded Yellow

Colias chrysotheme

UnknownVUEUVUEU

Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colias_chrysotheme

Overview

Colias chrysotheme, the lesser clouded yellow, is a small Palearctic butterfly belonging to the family Pieridae.

The Lesser Clouded Yellow butterfly faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized grassland ecosystems. Agricultural intensification, urbanization, and changes in land management practices have eliminated much of the species' required habitat. Climate change may also be affecting the availability of its host plants and suitable breeding conditions.

Threat summary

Habitat

In Eastern Central Europe in Lower Austria, in Burgenland (Lake Neusiedl), in Hungary then east to Romania , Ukraine , South Russia , Kazakhstan , South Siberia , Mongolia and Palearctic parts of China.

It favors flowered meadows, sparse forests, plains and steppe at altitudes below 2,000 m.

Other threatened species in Pieridae

EN

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Unknown
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Pieris krueperi

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Gruner's Orange-tipVU

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Anthocharis gruneri

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Frequently asked questions

Why is Lesser Clouded Yellow classified as Critically Endangered?
Lesser Clouded Yellow is classified as Critically Endangered — facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild — because population sizes are very small, declining sharply, or restricted to a tiny range. The Lesser Clouded Yellow butterfly faces severe population declines primarily due to habitat loss and degradation of its specialized grassland ecosystems. Agricultural intensification, urbanization, and changes in land management practices have eliminated much of the species' required habitat. Climate change may also be affecting the availability of its host plants and suitable breeding conditions.
Where does Lesser Clouded Yellow live?
Lesser Clouded Yellow occurs in across multiple regions. Country-level distribution data is sourced from the IUCN Red List and cross-referenced with GBIF occurrences.
What are the main threats to Lesser Clouded Yellow?
The main threats to Lesser Clouded Yellow are ai-1, ai-2, ai-3, and ai-4. The full IUCN-classified threat record for this species is detailed on the species page.

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