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1. kho (kho@shitposter.club)'s status on Monday, 12-Feb-2024 13:21:47 JST kho

   in reply to
   The common brimstone is one of the longest-living butterflies, with a life expectancy ranging from 10 months to a year. Brimstone butterflies are a single brood species – the adult butterflies emerge in August and are on the wing, feeding and building up fat reserves, until they go into hibernation at the end of autumn. The butterflies, also called imago, re-emerge early in the spring to mate and begin their life cycle once more.
   
   The brimstone butterflies feed on a range of nectar sources – as they are so early to emerge they rely initially upon long-flowering species such as dandelion, or early flowering species such as bluebell, cowslip and primrose. The key food plant in the autumn is thistles with a range of other species also used.
   
   The larval food plant is surprisingly specific and not abundantly common – they require buckthorn or alder buckthorn. The species name for the butterfly eludes to this link – rhamni which refers to the latin for buckthorn – Rhamnus sp. This is a shrub which can be found in hedgerows and woodlands but is not nearly as common as other similar species such as hawthorn or blackthorn.
   
   The cream and flavescent Brimstone Butterfly might be one of the representative species of the entire butterfly family since the very name ‘butterfly’ was probably derived from the ‘butter-colored flies’ that showed up with the advent of spring. Through their acts of mimicry and camouflage, they are known to be the ‘master of disguise’.