''Gonepteryx'' is a genus of

butterflies Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Pieridae The Pieridae are a large family (biology), family of butterflies with about 76 genera containing about 1,100 species, mostly from Afrotropical realm, tropical Africa and Indomalayan realm, tropical Asia with some varieties in the more northern ...

; there are about 15 species of ''Gonepteryx''. They live in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. They are commonly known as brimstones for the bright yellow colour of the wings of most species. These share the same name as the much larger tropical genus Anteos. These inhabit much of central and South America and also North America. This species are known for being the kings of butterfly longevity. 10–13 months is the lifespan for many temperate species. Anteos, however, is much shorter lived. The adults will often mimic ivy leaves at rest. Male brimstone butterflies can withstand cooler temperatures and are able to fly after just 4 months in hibernation. Female brimstone butterflies need warmer climates to survive, and therefore are in hibernation longer. The male butterflies have a longer life span as they are more resilient to a wider range of temperatures, unlike the female.

Species

It contains the following species:''Gonepteryx''
funet.fi * '' Gonepteryx acuminata'' (C. & R. Felder, 1862) * '' Gonepteryx aspasia'' (Ménétriès, 1859) * '' Gonepteryx amintha'' (Blanchard, 1871) * '' Gonepteryx burmensis'' (Tytler 1926) * '' Gonepteryx chitralensis'' (Moore, 1905) * '' Gonepteryx cleobule'' (Hübner, 1824) – Canary brimstone * '' Gonepteryx cleopatra'' (Linnaeus, 1767) – Cleopatra * '' Gonepteryx eversi'' (Rehnelt, 1974 * '' Gonepteryx farinosa'' (Zeller, 1847) – powdered brimstone * '' Gonepteryx maderensis'' (Felder, 1862) – Madeira brimstone * '' Gonepteryx mahaguru'' (Gistel, 1857) – lesser brimstone * '' Gonepteryx maxima'' (Butler, 1885) * '' Gonepteryx nepalensis'' (Doubleday, 1847) * '' Gonepteryx palmae'' (Stamm 1963) – La Palma brimstone * ''

Gonepteryx rhamni ''Gonepteryx rhamni'', commonly named the common brimstone, is a butterfly of the family Pieridae. It lives throughout the Palearctic zone and is commonly found across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Across much of its range, it is the only spe ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) – common brimstone * '' Gonepteryx taiwana'' (Paravicini 1913)

References

''Gonepteryx''
Tree of Life
''Gonepteryx''
Encyclopedia of Life Wiklund, C., Lindfors, V., & Forsberg, J. (1996). Early male emergence and reproductive phenology of the adult overwintering butterfly gonepteryx rhamni in Sweden. Oikos, 75(2), 227. https://doi.org/10.2307/3546246 Pieridae genera Taxa named by William Elford Leach Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Coliadinae Taxa described in 1819 {{pieridae-stub