Brimstone

Gonepteryx rhamni

The commoner of the brimstone butterflies with a wingspan of 52-64 mm and distinctively-shaped wings that resemble leaves. The males of this species are iridescently greenish-yellow, the females are paler; there are several subspecies in Lebanon. The brimstone lives in all types of habitats, in farmland, gardens, hedges, fields, scrub, thickets, wetland, woodland, grassland, fallow, and stony slopes. Like the Cleopatra, the host plants are the common buckthorn (Rhamnus catharticus) and Mediterranean buckthorn (R. alaternus). It flies May through October and is migratory, travelling locally between wetland and woodland to mate and hibernate.

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