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Brimstone

 

 

 Already we encounter newly hatched brimstones, and next spring we may meet the same individuals after the winter. The imagos of brimstones are truly long-lived, an age of up to 13 months has been noted in monitoring studies; this is made possible by their mode of life. The butterflies rest quite a lot during summer. After an active period  and feeding for a few days, they take some days off, sometimes even a week. The life cycle proceeds with so-called diapauses, which in turn are influenced by the weather.

 

 Brimstone

 

Already from far off we notice the pointed tips of the fore and hind wings characteristic of brimstones, the light wing veins and reddish-brown spots on both fore and hind wings. The male is recognisable from the lemon yellow colour of his wings already in flight. The female’s wing colour is greenish white, and so a novice butterfly enthusiast may confuse it with the male of the large white or cabbage butterfly (Pieris brassicae ).