Bird, bug, butterfly and a wild variety of photos from Belarus, Cyprus, Finland, Greece, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Scotland and Spain by Irish wildlife photographer Patrick J. O'Keeffe and invited guests

Monday 1 January 2018

BRIMSTONE BUTTERFLY (Gonepteryx rhamni) [Male] Lullymore West Bog, I.P.C.C. Nature Reserve, Lullymore, Co. Kildare, Ireland



 
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The Brimstone Butterfly (Gonepteryx rhamni) is of the family Pieridae which is in genus Gonepteryx. It occurs in Europe, Asia and parts of northern Africa. The presents of its larval host plants, Alder Buckthorn (Rhamnus frangula) and Common Buckthorn (Rhamnus carthartica) influences its geographic range and distribution. This butterfly can live for up to a year and the flight season is from April to August. It then overwinters as an adult and emerges, after seven months, from hibernation.

Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds