(Linnaeus, 1758)
Brimstone
Description:
For many, the Brimstone is the first sign of spring. The butterflies hibernate in heaps of twigs or grass tussocks, and on any warm day, even in January, the males appear. The females, that are paler in colour, are seen a little later.
The eggs are laid apart on the young branches and leaves of buckthorns (Rhamnus spp.). The caterpillars feed on the young leaves. They pupate, suspended from the underside of a twig or nerve of a leaf. In the summer, when the butterflies emerge, they do not mate but instead may become inactive for quite long periods before they hibernate. Courtship and mating do not take place until the spring.
The Brimstone always has just one generation a year.
Habitat:
Mixed woodland
Urban parks and gardens
Towns and villages
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Gonepteryx farinosa
Gonepteryx cleopatra