Wednesday 29 August 2007

Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

OTHER NAMES: Brimstone, Butter-coloured Fly
Latin Etymology: Gonepteryx ("angle wing") rhamni ("refers to buckthorn - a favoured host)
Adult Common Brimstone (subspecies G. r. rhamni) at Pitsford, Northants - August 2011

Featured Subspecies: Aricia agestis agestis
Length: 33mm  /  Wingspan: 52-60mm
UK Status: Least Concern IUCN Red List: Not Yet Evaluated

A very distinctive sulphur yellow species of butterly related to the whites. As you can see in the picture, its wings mimick leaves making it harder to spot when it lands, but in the air the only species which it could really be mistaken for is the rarer clouded yellow. The identifying feature is definitly the toxic yellow colour, and it can be further differentiated from the clouded yellow by the distinctive wing points.

Related Species:
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family: Pieridae 
Genus: Gonepteryx
SUBSPECIES: G. r. rhamni, G. r. gravesi, G. r. carnipennis, G. r. concolor, G. r. kurdistana, G. r. meridionalis, G. r. mijanowskii, G. r. nana, G. r. tianschanica, G. r. transient

- Sighting Locations -
UNITED KINGDOM A common resident species which is seen in Summer
 - Seen in Geddington and Pitsford amoung other sites

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, WikipediaXeno-canto

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