California dogface butterfly | |
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Female | |
Male | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Pieridae |
Genus: | Zerene |
Species: | Z. eurydice
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Binomial name | |
Zerene eurydice (Boisduval, 1855)
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Synonyms | |
Colias eurydice Boisduval, 1855 |
Zerene eurydice, the California dogface butterfly, belongs to the family Pieridae and is a sister genus to Colias. [2] The Zerene eurydice and the Colias both share the "characteristic of having yellow-orange and black wing coordination." [3] Additionally the,"Colias and Zerene eurydice males have bright UV patterns on their wings."[3] There are only two species of the Zerene, the Zerene eurydice, and the Zerene cesonia, also known as the Southern dogface.[4] A study that collected mitochondrial DNA from various Colias butterfly species found that Z. eurydice had decreased divergence from the ingroup, highlighting how closely related these two genera are.[5] This species is endemic to California, and is California's state insect.[6] The California dogface butterfly varies in its wing color and pattern.
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