Pierids (Whites & Yellows)
A large family of light or brightly coloured butterflies of medium size, containing some of the few species regarded as pests by gardeners and vegetable growers. Skittle-shaped eggs, laid either singly or in clusters, give rise to voracious, usually green caterpillars which feed aggressively on vegetable matter. Containing unpleasant chemicals to deter predators, those larvae that survive form chrysalises with pointed or beak-shaped heads held by a silken pad and girdle, varying in colour according to the background on which they are formed. .
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Family: Pieridae
Subfamily: Coliadinae
Tribe: Gonepterygini
Genus: Gonepteryx
Species: rhamni
Subspecies: rhamni, gravesi

Key ID Features:
Male bright, sulphur yellow but female more greenish, white.
Hooked wing tips and no black markings.
Always settle with wings closed.

Seen in UK: March-October

It is commonly believed that the word “butterfly” is a derived from “butter-coloured fly” which is attributed to the yellow of the male Brimstone butterfly, the female being a much paler whitish-green. The Brimstone has a most exquisite wing shape, perfectly matching a leaf when roosting overnight or hibernating within foliage. This is one of the few species that hibernates as an adult and, as such, spends the majority of its life as an adult butterfly. The distribution of this species closely follows that of the larval foodplant. In England, where it is represented by the subspecies rhamni, it can be found south of a line from Cheshire in the west to South-east Yorkshire in the east, although vagrants may turn up in other areas.

Text (c) UK Butterflies, used with permission
For more information click here

Photographer: Tim Tapley

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)
Family: Pieridae
Subfamily: Coliadinae
Tribe: Gonepterygini
Genus: Gonepteryx
Species: rhamni
Subspecies: rhamni, gravesi

Key ID Features:
Male bright, sulphur yellow but female more greenish, white.
Hooked wing tips and no black markings.
Always settle with wings closed.

Seen in UK: March-October

It is commonly believed that the word “butterfly” is a derived from “butter-coloured fly” which is attributed to the yellow of the male Brimstone butterfly, the female being a much paler whitish-green. The Brimstone has a most exquisite wing shape, perfectly matching a leaf when roosting overnight or hibernating within foliage. This is one of the few species that hibernates as an adult and, as such, spends the majority of its life as an adult butterfly. The distribution of this species closely follows that of the larval foodplant. In England, where it is represented by the subspecies rhamni, it can be found south of a line from Cheshire in the west to South-east Yorkshire in the east, although vagrants may turn up in other areas.

Text (c) UK Butterflies, used with permission
For more information click here

Photographer: Tim Tapley