common brimstone
gonepteryx rhamni latin

Gonepteryx rhamni (known as the Common Brimstone) is a butterfly of the Pieridae family.

In flight, it is easily identifiable by the intense yellow colouring, much brighter than that of the lemon-yellow male Common Brimstone which also lacks black color.

Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Rhamnus frangula is one of just two food plants (the other being Rhamnus cathartica) used by the Common Brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni.

It was not until 1793 that the hoax was discovered by Johan Christian Fabricius, who recognised that the dark patches had been painted on, and that the specimen was a common Brimstone butterfly (now called Gonepteryx rhamni).

Most of the new names included in Centuria Insectorum are still in use, although a few have been sunk into synonymy, and one was the result of a hoax: a Common Brimstone butterfly with spots painted on was described as the new "species" Papilio ecclipsis.

It is believed that the name "butterfly" originated from a member of this family, the Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni.

Common Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni)

Rhamnus frangula is one of just two food plants (the other being Rhamnus cathartica) used by the Common Brimstone butterfly Gonepteryx rhamni.

It was not until 1793 that the hoax was discovered by Johan Christian Fabricius, who recognised that the dark patches had been painted on, and that the specimen was a common Brimstone butterfly (now called Gonepteryx rhamni).