Abstract: The phylogenetic relationships among 9 species in 6 genera of butterflies belonging to the subfamily Coliadinae were explored based on the partial sequences of EF-1α (about 648 bp) and COⅡ (about 504 bp) genes. There were 261 variation sites and 151 parsimony-informative sites, and a 77.3% A+T bias in 1 152 bp nucleotides of the combined sequence of the EF-1α and COⅡ in the species examined. Molecular phylogenetic trees were constructed by using maximum parsimony (MP), maximum likelihood (ML) and bayesian inference (BI) methods. The results suggested that Eurema was a primordial genus of Colidinae, which was differentiated earlier than other genera. According to the phylogenetic tree, Colias and Catopsilia were located in a sister group and had a close relationship. Whereas, Gonepteryx had an uncertain relationship with the sister group of Colias and Catopsilia. The inferred molecular phylogeny in the study did not support the traditional classification of Coliadinae based on morphology. Especially, this study supported the viewpoint that the earliest genus differentiated from ingroup was Eurema, but not the sister group of Colias and Catopsilia.

Key words: Lepidoptera, Colidinae, EF-1&alpha, gene, COⅡ gene, phylogeny