Common brimstone butterfly

I still have some butterflies I shot near my mums lavender bush in early summer. I didn't see this one very often and it was just one at the time. Maybe even the very same one each time.

Gonepteryx rhamni

The butterfly is be found in Europe, North Africa and Asia ( Palearctic zone). It prefers wetlands also because it relies on buckthorn plants to lay eggs on, and this is where they can be found. The one you see on the photos is a female with lighter wings and more green colour on them. Males are bright yellow.


The female will lay eggs only once in a year and soon after will die. New generation of butterflies will appear during the summer. They will until fall and then they will find a cozy place in the woodlands to hibernate until spring. In spring they will look for a mate, lay eggs... and the cycle repeats.





The butterfly is quite large comparing to other I saw in the garden. Having those lathe wings let them fly with such grace...