Pink-edged Sulphur (Colias interior)

Pink-edged sulphur
	Pink-edged sulphur on a purple flower
Conservation status
	; Secure (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Clade:	Pancrustacea
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Pieridae
Genus:	Colias
Species:	C. interior
Binomial name
	Colias interior; (Scudder, 1862)

Colias interior, the pink-edged sulphur, is a species of North American butterfly in the family Pieridae. It is the State Butterfly of Maine.^[2]

Description

This species is a yellow butterfly with black marginal borders, which are reduced in females. The hindwing has one central spot, and the wing edges are pink. Black marginal spots are absent. The wingspan for this butterfly is 39 to 66 mm.^[3] Males are not ultraviolet^[4].

Habitat and Distribution

Canadian to Hudsonian life zone with shrubby forest openings^[4]. The species ranges across southern Canada and parts of the northern United States (see range map).

Life cycle

There is one flight between June and August.^[3] The adult female lays eggs on blueberry plants.

Larval foods

Ericaceae: Vaccinium myrtilloides, V. cespitosum, V. angustifolium, and possibly V. crassifolium and V. vacillans^[4].

Adult foods

Aralia hispida
Pilosella aurantiaca

References

^ "Colias interior". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
^ Maine Legislature. (2025). 1 M.R.S. § 231: State butterfly. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/1/title1sec231.html
^ ^a ^b "Pink-edged Sulphur Colias interior Scudder, 1862 | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2026-05-30.
^ ^a ^b ^c Scott, James A. (1986). The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2013-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

Darby, Gene (1958). What is a Butterfly. Chicago: Benefic Press. p. 37.
"Butterflies and Moths of North America (Pink-edged Sulphur)". Montana State University. Archived from the original on 2011-01-08. Retrieved 2008-10-15.
Pink-edged Sulphur, Butterflies of Canada

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[1] "Colias interior". NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe. Retrieved 2026-05-30.

[2] Maine Legislature. (2025). 1 M.R.S. § 231: State butterfly. https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/1/title1sec231.html

[:0-3] "Pink-edged Sulphur Colias interior Scudder, 1862 | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org. Retrieved 2026-05-30.

[:1-4] Scott, James A. (1986). The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2013-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)

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