Jon Johnson File Photo/Gila Herald: Yellow butterflies have again descended upon Pima.
Editors Note: As I headed into Safford from Pima today, I was struck with an idea to revisit this post from August 22, 2018. Literally struck numerous times as the butterflies have returned to the area.
By Jon Johnson
PIMA – Swarms of yellow butterflies have taken up camp locally, causing quite a sight for travelers passing through.
The winged wonders appear to be the Southern Dogface (Colias cesonia), which is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae, subfamily Coliadinae. The butterflies’ habits are open areas with host plants usually being herbaceous.
The butterflies lay their eggs on the host plants and they have multiple flights each year throughout the southern part of their range year-round.
A number of Pima residents have spotted butterflies in their flowers or plants.
According to Richard A. Bailowitz and Mark P. Sitter of the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum, the butterflies generally produce one or more generations per year.
Butterflies are also important pollinators and are good indicators of the ecological quality of a habitat as well as an important component of the food chain, particularly as larvae, according to Bailowitz and Sitter.
