Colias hecla ID question

[akcolias]

These two butterflies, collected in the same location in arctic Alaska, should be male Colias hecla. The bottom one is the normal form for this area.  The top one has unusually rounded wings.  Does this seem to be within the variation for the species?

[bobw]

Colias hecla is a very variable species, even within the same locality, so these are both specimens of it.  Here are the series I collected in Alaska, both are from the Dalton Highway, those on the left from the North Slope, those on the right from just south of the Brooks range.

[akcolias]

Thank you for the information. I am impressed with how many females you were able to get...I captured 2 last summer, out of 50+ hecla netted and hundreds seen. Where was your "south of the Brooks Range" collecting location? Last summer I was collecting along the east bank of the Colville River Delta, about 60 miles west of Prudhoe Bay.

[bobw]

I also collected around Prudhoe Bay, but it's difficult to chase them. It's much easier to collect along the pipeline (with permission!) as the foodplants grow in profusion on the disturbed ground and the bugs like to fly along it. The locality just south of the Brooks range was around mile 227.