Clouded Yellow vs Lesser Clouded Yellow

Colias croceus compared with Colias chrysotheme

Key Differences

• Clouded Yellow is Least Concern while Lesser Clouded Yellow is Vulnerable.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Clouded Yellow	Lesser Clouded Yellow
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Arthropoda (Arthropods)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class same	Insecta (Insects)	Insecta (Insects)
Order same	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family same	Pieridae	Pieridae
Genus same	Colias	Colias
Species	Colias croceus	Colias chrysotheme

Evolutionary Relationship

Clouded Yellow and Lesser Clouded Yellow share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Colias.

Conservation Status

Clouded Yellow

LC — Least Concern

Lesser Clouded Yellow

VU — Vulnerable

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Clouded Yellow	Lesser Clouded Yellow
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Clouded Yellow

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Cyprus) and Europe (40 countries).

Lesser Clouded Yellow

Habitat

Typically found in virtually all terrestrial and freshwater habitats.

Range

Found across Europe (9 countries). Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Clouded Yellow

Clouded Yellow (Colias croceus) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 9 countries:

🇦🇹 Austria 🇨🇿 Czech Republic 🇭🇺 Hungary 🇲🇩 Moldova 🇳🇱 Netherlands 🇷🇴 Romania 🇷🇺 Russia 🇸🇰 Slovakia 🇺🇦 Ukraine