Head to head
Brimstone Butterfly vs Orange-tip Butterfly
Brimstone Butterfly
VS Orange-tip Butterfly
The brimstone and orange-tip are two of the first butterflies seen in European spring, both on the wing along hedgerows and woodland edges, but with very different strategies.
| Brimstone Butterfly | Orange-tip Butterfly | |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Gonepteryx rhamni | Anthocharis cardamines |
| Colour | Males are bright sulphur yellow and females pale greenish-white | Males have white wings with bright orange tips, and females have black tips and no orange |
| Camouflage | Leaf-shaped wings veined like leaves | Undersides mottled with green, which blend into flowers such as cow parsley |
| Season | Appears on the first warm days of spring, and the adult can live for about a year | Flies mainly in spring, with one brood a year |
| Winter | Hibernates as an adult among ivy, holly, and other evergreen leaves | Spends the rest of the year as a chrysalis |
| Caterpillar food | Buckthorn and alder buckthorn | Cuckooflower and garlic mustard |
| Habitat | Woodland edges, hedgerows, and meadows across Europe, North Africa, and temperate Asia | Hedgerows, damp meadows, and woodland edges across Europe and temperate Asia |
| Conservation status | Least Concern, with a stable population | Least Concern, and increasing in parts of Britain |
Brimstone Butterfly vs Orange-tip Butterfly: common questions
Which butterfly lives for about a year?
The brimstone, whose adult can live for about a year, hibernating through the winter.
Which butterfly has orange wingtips?
The male orange-tip, whose white forewings have bright orange tips.
What do their caterpillars eat?
The brimstone's feed on buckthorn and alder buckthorn, while the orange-tip's feed on cuckooflower and garlic mustard.