Butterfly ID
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Field guide · Norway
Whites and yellows · Norway

Common brimstone

Gonepteryx rhamni

Common brimstone is easily recognisable by the male’s yellow-green colour and pointed wing tips. It is common on Southern Norway and the southern part of Eastern Norway, and it overwinters as an adult and is among the first butterflies to emerge in the spring.

Status in this countryCommon in NorwayLC (Least concern)
Common brimstone

Flight period

July–September and April–July; overwinters as an adult. The males appear a few weeks before the females in the spring, from March–April, depending on the arrival of spring.

Habitat

Open forest and woodland edges where nutrient plants grow; the adult butterfly often flies far and seeks nectar plants in ditches, fields, and gardens.

Identifying features

Wingspan 55–60 mm. The male is lemon-yellow with a small orange dot in the centre of each wing; the female is greenish-white with the same markings. The forewing tip and the middle of the outer hindwing margin extend into points. At rest, the species shows only its wing undersides.

Similar species

The female can be mistaken for a cabbage butterfly, but the species cannot be confused with any other Nordic species. The male can resemble males of Pale Arctic clouded yellow and moorland clouded yellow.

Distribution

Common in Southern Norway and the southern part of Eastern Norway. In Vestlandet and the northern part of Eastern Norway, it occurs sporadically; scattered in Trøndelag. Approximately 15,000 finds according to the 2025 publication.

Biology

Eggs are laid on alder buckthorn and common buckthorn. The larva is green with white lateral lines and grows to about 32 mm. It pupates in July on a twig of the host tree, and the adult emerges after about 2 weeks. The species overwinters as an adult in sheltered spaces, for example in stumps, tussocks and under small dense spruce trees.