Common Grass Yellow

Familiar butterfly with yellow wings.

Scientific name	Eurema mandarina
English name	Common Grass Yellow
Japanese name	Kitakicho
Classification	Insecta
Classification details	Lepidoptera Pieridae
Full length	20-27mm
Distribution	Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Nansei Islands.

Characteristics

A familiar butterfly with yellow wings. Both forewings and hindwings are bright yellow. There are small dark brown spots on the underside, and the edges are brown. Males are darker yellow. The legs are pale, almost white, the eyes are yellow, and the antennae are dark brown.

Red Butterfly and Southern Yellow Butterfly

All of the Kitakicho were formerly called ``Kichou'', but they have come to be distinguished from the group of Kicho that inhabits only the Nansei Islands. The Kicho of the Nansei Islands is called the Minamikicho.

Ecology

Inhabits meadows and grassy areas in parks. Occurs from spring to November. In addition, some individuals overwinter in autumn.

Larvae feed on leguminous plants such as Silk tree. White eggs of about 1 mm are spindle-shaped.

Habitat

It was taken on a forest road in Hachioji city. While flying around the ground, they perched on flowers to suck nectar, or perched on the ground and stayed still. There were also males and females chasing after each other. Some individuals were seen with ragged wings and stomachs.