Pieridae : Coliadinae
Brimstone
GONEPTERYX rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
G.r.gravesi Huggins, 1956 - Ireland
Brimstone
GONEPTERYX rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
G.r.gravesi Huggins, 1956 - Ireland
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Alternative Name: Common Brimstone
Wingspan: 60-74mm
Worldwide Distribution: N.W Africa : Europe : Turkey to W.Siberia : Kyrgyiztan : Mongolia.
UK Distribution: One of our most successful butterflies, which is widespread over Southern and Western England reaching as far north as Lincolnshire,Yorkshire,Cheshire & Lancashire into the Welsh borders.
In Ireland it is fairly widespread but tends to be a local to the larval food plant.
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: Overwintering adults appear as early as February and March flying through to June and July.The next generation of adults appear late July and August. These adults will overwinter to complete the yearly cycle.Univoltine-One brood per year.
Habitat: Both Brimstone adults can be found in woodland,often where its larval food plant is growing close to streams and ditches.
As a wide ranging butterfly than can also be seen flying along roadside verges in early spring searching out a mate or imbibing on the Dandelions,Violets & Lesser Celandine.(See photo 2 L-R)
Ovum: The female deposits ovum on the sunny side of the larval food plant on unfurling leaves making them easy to find, albeit that plants like Alder Buckthorn tend to grow sparsley in some areas . They ova hatch in 1-2 weeks.
Larva: End May-End July.Larva first stage instars feed on Alder Buckthorn leaves by making holes in the individual leaves(see below).Following instars tend to consume the leaf from the apex of the leaf toward the leaf axis.The larva eventually leave the Larval Food Plant to pupate in the lower levels of vegetation. The larvae are green with a prominent white central line.The larvae are predated quite heavily by birds & wasps.
Pupa: Pupation usually occurs away from the larval food plant and hatches in about 2 weeks
Overwinters as: Adult
Observations: One of our much loved early sighted butterflies that signifies the worst of winter is behind us, the weather is warming up, and a full season of butterflies awaits us all.
The name "Butter coloured fly" may have originated from the beautiful yellow colour of the male Brimstone although the female is creamy white in colour.
The veins on the butterflies wings and the general shape appear like that of a leaf and possibly gives them camouflage during the winter months when they hibernate under Bramble leaves,evergreen shrubs,Holly and Ivy.
Prior to hibernating they can be seen in late summer feeding avidly on Vetches,Scabious,Knapweeds and Marjoram in order to build their fat reserves for the long winter months ahead.
The Brimstone is our longest living butterfly lasting eleven months of the year and appearing in every month of the year.
Wingspan: 60-74mm
Worldwide Distribution: N.W Africa : Europe : Turkey to W.Siberia : Kyrgyiztan : Mongolia.
UK Distribution: One of our most successful butterflies, which is widespread over Southern and Western England reaching as far north as Lincolnshire,Yorkshire,Cheshire & Lancashire into the Welsh borders.
In Ireland it is fairly widespread but tends to be a local to the larval food plant.
UK Conservation Status -
- Least Concern - Red List
- Least Concern
- Papilio rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sweden
Flight Period: Overwintering adults appear as early as February and March flying through to June and July.The next generation of adults appear late July and August. These adults will overwinter to complete the yearly cycle.Univoltine-One brood per year.
Habitat: Both Brimstone adults can be found in woodland,often where its larval food plant is growing close to streams and ditches.
As a wide ranging butterfly than can also be seen flying along roadside verges in early spring searching out a mate or imbibing on the Dandelions,Violets & Lesser Celandine.(See photo 2 L-R)
Ovum: The female deposits ovum on the sunny side of the larval food plant on unfurling leaves making them easy to find, albeit that plants like Alder Buckthorn tend to grow sparsley in some areas . They ova hatch in 1-2 weeks.
Larva: End May-End July.Larva first stage instars feed on Alder Buckthorn leaves by making holes in the individual leaves(see below).Following instars tend to consume the leaf from the apex of the leaf toward the leaf axis.The larva eventually leave the Larval Food Plant to pupate in the lower levels of vegetation. The larvae are green with a prominent white central line.The larvae are predated quite heavily by birds & wasps.
Pupa: Pupation usually occurs away from the larval food plant and hatches in about 2 weeks
Overwinters as: Adult
Observations: One of our much loved early sighted butterflies that signifies the worst of winter is behind us, the weather is warming up, and a full season of butterflies awaits us all.
The name "Butter coloured fly" may have originated from the beautiful yellow colour of the male Brimstone although the female is creamy white in colour.
The veins on the butterflies wings and the general shape appear like that of a leaf and possibly gives them camouflage during the winter months when they hibernate under Bramble leaves,evergreen shrubs,Holly and Ivy.
Prior to hibernating they can be seen in late summer feeding avidly on Vetches,Scabious,Knapweeds and Marjoram in order to build their fat reserves for the long winter months ahead.
The Brimstone is our longest living butterfly lasting eleven months of the year and appearing in every month of the year.
Subspecies
G.r.rhamni Linnaeus, 1758 British Isles,but excluding Ireland - Nominate Subspecies
G.r.rhamni Linnaeus, 1758 British Isles,but excluding Ireland - Nominate Subspecies
Larva
As can be seen in photo 1 below the larva first stage instars feed on Alder Buckthorn leaves by making holes in the individual leaves.
Following instars tend to consume the leaf from the apex of the leaf toward the leaf axis.
The larva eventually leave the Larval Food Plant to pupate in the lower levels of vegetation.
As can be seen in photo 1 below the larva first stage instars feed on Alder Buckthorn leaves by making holes in the individual leaves.
Following instars tend to consume the leaf from the apex of the leaf toward the leaf axis.
The larva eventually leave the Larval Food Plant to pupate in the lower levels of vegetation.
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Brimstone larvae feed on plant families described below plant photos.
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Vaccinium oxycoccos - Small Cranberry - Wild Cranberry
- Rhamnaceae - The Buckthorn Family
- Rhamnus alaternus - Italian Buckthorn
- Rhamnus alpina - Alpine Buckthorn
- Rhamnus cathartica - Common Buckthorn
- Rhamnus davurica - Dahurian Buckthorn
- Rhamnus frangula - Alder Buckthorn
- Rhamnus lycioides - Black Hawthorn - European Buckthorn
- Rhamnus ussuriensis - No Common Name
- Rhamnus virgatus - Indian Cascara
Rhamnus frangula - Alder Buckthorn
Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - GONEPTERYX: Original Species Name: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Pieridae Coliadinae Gonepterygini GONEPTERYX Leach, [1815] Gonepteryx rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio rhamni (Linnaeus 1758) - PAPILIO rhamni (Linnaeus 1758) = Papilio ecclipsis Linnaeus, 1763 = Gonepteryx rhamni gilgitica Tytler, 1926 = Gonepteryx rhamni miljanowskii Nekrutenko, 1966 = Gonepteryx rhamni tianshanica Nekrutenko, 1970 = Gonepteryx rhamni matsakii Kattulas & Koutsaftikis, 1978 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.470 n.73 - Sweden - G.r. decora Oberthür, 1909 G.r. fervida Fritsch, 1911 G.r. flavescens Lempke, 1936 G.r. hoefnageli Bryk, 1922 - G.r.rhamni-Britain,not Ireland - Nominate subspecies G.r.gravesi Huggins, 1956 - Ireland G.r.carnipennis Butler G.r.concolor Mell G.r.kurdistana of Freina, 1989 G.r.meridionalis Röber, 1907-North Africa and Armenia . G.r.miljanowskii Nekrutenko, 1966-Caucasus G.r.nana Wnukowsky, 1935-South of Siberia and Altai . G.r.tianschanica Nekrutenko, 1970. G.r.transient Verity, 1913-Southern Europe and Western Siberia . |
