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Meadow and hedgerow · Butterflies and moths
Brimstone
Gonepteryx rhamni
The male is butter yellow and the female very pale green. Both have pointed, leaf-shaped wings.
- Size
- Wingspan about 6cm
- Look for it
- February to May, then July to October
- Where
- Woodland edges, hedges and gardens, mostly in England and Wales
My spotter's list
Flies after you without stopping for long. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the brimstone
WordThe butter-coloured fly
Some people think the word butterfly began with this insect: the butter-coloured fly of early spring.
LeafA perfect leaf
At rest, its veined, pointed wings look exactly like a pale leaf. It always sits with them closed.
AgeA year on the wing
It is one of the longest-lived British butterflies. An adult can live for ten or eleven months.
FirstFirst of the year
On the first warm day of late winter, the yellow butterfly flying along the hedge will be a male brimstone.
FoodTwo bushes only
The caterpillars eat only buckthorn and alder buckthorn, and females will fly miles to find one.
WinterHidden in the ivy
It spends the winter as an adult, hanging among ivy or holly leaves and looking like one of them.
The real thing
Photos of the brimstone
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot one
Walk a sunny woodland ride in March or April. The males fly steadily along the edges, searching for females.
Lend a handHow to help
Plant a buckthorn or alder buckthorn in a hedge. It is a plain shrub, but brimstones cannot breed without it.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another.
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