Brimstone butterfly rare sight

IT’S said that the English word butterfly was first coined to describe the brimstone, which is butter yellow in colour. At least the males are, the females are more green than yellow.

Unfortunately this large and beautiful species is rather rare in Ireland.

Although there is a small breeding population quite close to where I live I sometimes go a whole year without seeing a single one. And this is despite the fact that they are on the wing for a long season, appearing in early spring, when they mate and have their only brood of the year, and staying around until they go into hibernation in autumn. Dense ivy or holly is nearly always chosen as a hibernation site.