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| UK Status |
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| Resident |
A species which is continually Resident in the UK with stable breeding populations. |
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| Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Migrant in the UK. It may be able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Migrants are normally reported in the UK every year. |
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| Rare Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Rare Migrant in the UK. It may able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Rare Migrants may not be seen for many years. |
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| Extinct |
A species which is Extinct in the UK, usually as a result of habitat loss. |
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| Introduction |
A species which ocurs in the UK as an accidental introduction. |
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Description
The larvae of the Brimstone feeds on the leaves of Buckthorn and Alder Buckthorn. The egg is approximately 2.5mm tall and is skittle shaped as are all eggs laid by Butterflies of the Pieridae family. They can be found on fresh leaf growth on the larval food plant during the spring and are easy to find.
The caterpillars feed singularly on the food plant and are easily found lying along the mid-rib of the upperside of a leaf. It is remarkably well camouflaged being the same green as the leaves of its food plant.
The chrysalis is attached by the tail to a stick or branch of the foodplant by silk and a silken thread as a support girdle. The pupal stage lasts around 14 days. The Chrysalis changes colour when the butterfly is about to emerge.
Warm sunny days in early March brings the Brimstone out from hibernation but since it is such a long-lived species butterflies may be seen throughout the year even though there is only one brood per year. The bright rich yellow of the male Brimstone butterfly cannot be confused with any other UK butterfly. The female however is a very pale yellow almost white in colour and can be confused at a distance for a Large White. The distinctive shape of the Brimstone and the intricate veining of the wings make it a remarkably beautiful and graceful butterfly.
The Brimstone is also one of the longest living of British Butterflies and is the only species outside the Nymphalidae family to hibernate as an adult butterfly.
The Brimstone is thought to be the original 'butter-coloured fly'.
Habitat
The Brimstone is usually found in grassland woodland open areas and hedgerows but can also be found in any location even where the larval food plant is not present as the butterfly may travel widely from its larval home.
Larval Food Plants
Buckthorn (Rhamnus cathartica) and Alder Buckthorn (Frangula alnus).
British Subspecies
The following sub-species of the Brimstone occur in the UK.
 Brimstone - Gonepteryx rhamni gravesi (Huggins, 1956) - Occurs in Ireland only where slight differences in colouration distinguishes it from ssp. rhamni.
Brimstone - Gonepteryx rhamni rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758) - Occurs in England and Wales but is absent in Ireland.
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| Stock Photography Library |
| We have 17 photographs of the Brimstone in the British Butterflies photo library |
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BB1871 - Brimstone
DSC_7060.JPG
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BB1870 - Brimstone
DSC_7004.JPG
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BB1869 - Brimstone
DSC_6997.JPG
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BB1660 - Brimstone
DSC_9193.JPG
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BB949 - Brimstone
DSC_5242.JPG
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BB280 - Brimstone
DSC_8262.JPG
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BB279 - Brimstone
DSC_5845.JPG
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BB248 - Brimstone
DSCN3154.JPG
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| Distribution |
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| England and the Welsh borders north to Cleveland and the southern regions of the Lake District. |
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| Where to see the Brimstone |
| England and the Welsh borders north to Cleveland and the southern regions of the Lake District. |
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| Population Trends |
| species status |
the Brimstone is a resident species in Britain |
| population trend1 |
(1995-2004)  down by -11% |
(1976-2004)  up by 22% |
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1Fox, R., Asher. J., Brereton. T., Roy, D & Warren, M.
(2006) The State of Butterflies in Britain & Ireland, Pices, Oxford. |
| UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Status |
| UK BAP status2 |
not listed (link) |
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| 2 For more information about the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species status, visit www.ukbap.org.uk. |
| IUCN Category Status |
| IUCN category3 |
 least concern4 |
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3 Fox, R., Warren, M & Brereton, T.
(2007) New Red List of British Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation, Wareham.
4 More information about IUCN categories available here. |
| Find Out More Online* |
| More information about the Brimstone can be found on Peter Eeles excellent UK Butterflies web site. |
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Aberrations and Forms |
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| We currently know of 4 named aberrant forms of the Brimstone. More information about aberrants can be found here. |
 ab. decora - Oberthür (1909) |
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| ab. fervida - Fritsch (1911) |
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| ab. flavescens - Lempke (1936) |
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| ab. hoefnageli - Bryk (1922) |
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| References |
| The information on this web site comes from a variety of freely available resources including books, academic reports and web sites alongside my own personal observations of butterflies. The species descriptions are currently in the process of being edited (spring 2009) to include new data, recent personal observations and referencing following a major update to the site.
A complete list of references mentioned in the text on this web site is available here. |
| * External Links Disclaimer |
| This web site includes links to information provided by external web sites which are not in any way under the control of www.britishbutterflies.co.uk. We cannot, therefore, be held responsible for the content of external web pages. |
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60-74mm
