Common Brimstone Butterfly

 A couple of days ago, I mentioned an unexpected garden visitor in the form of the common brimstone butterfly. Whilst not an uncommon butterfly, especially in the south and east of England (Figure 1), its preferred habitat is scrubby grassland and woodland including roadside verges and hedgerows.

Figure 1: Brimstone Distribution in the UK (h/t Butterfly Conservation)

Well, I object to our garden being described as scrubby grassland!! Hence our surprise and delight in seeing this rare visitor enjoying our garden. In the past, we have observed brimstones at Common Hill (scrubby grassland) and the nearby Lea & Paget's Wood (woodland). In our experience, brimstone sightings are often on the wing and some distance away but their identity is given away by the distinctive yellow colour.

Our recent garden visitor was still rather flighty but at least it was possible to get reasonably close. Here are a couple of short videos recorded on the 19/7/24 in the kitchen garden.

Video 1: Common Brimstone in a Hereford Garden (19/7/24)

Video 2: Common Brimstone in a Hereford Garden (19/7/24)

For more information on the brimstone butterfly, see here, here, here, and here.