A Yellow Brimstone Butterfly Gonepteryx Rhamni Feeding On A Purple Echinacea Flower Stock Image

The brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni is a fairly large, pale yellow butterfly, with distinctive, leaf-shaped wings. Adults hibernate through cold weather, so may be seen flying on warm days throughout the year, although they are most common in the spring. Usually seen in ones or twos, they are never very common, but are widespread. They can be found in damp woodlands, along sunny, woodland rides and mature hedgerows, and in large gardens. The foodplants of the larvae are buckthorn and alder buckthorn. Both shrubs are found in wet woodland, while buckthorn also occurs on dry chalk and limestone soils.Easy to grow, echinacea or coneflowers are bold, tough perennials are increasingly popular in gardens. Flowering in late summer, they combine well with other late perennials and grasses, especially in prairie-style plantings. The flowers are attractive to bees and butterflies.