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Image-of-the-Day by Subject

Image Taken on 07 Jun 2016 at 14:32    Image of day on 20 Jul 2016

A male Brimstone Butterfly sips a late lunch from a Red Campion flower.


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Image Taken on 05 Aug 2019 at 13:10    Image of day on 23 Sep 2019

More male Brimstone Butterflies have appeared, this time in the meadow where they go straight to the flowering Teasels.


Ref: 20190923_df3_20190805_1310_027 brimstone butterfly male feeding on teasel(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 24 Mar 2012 at 15:36    Image of day on 26 Apr 2012

This is a male Brimstone Butterfly fueling up from one of a number of Winter flowering Viburnum.


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Image Taken on 10 May 2017 at 16:32    Image of day on 02 Jul 2017

This male Brimstone butterfly was finding nectar at various flower, here at a White Dead-nettle - a naturally sting free variety. At this scale it not obvious, but the camouflage is remarkably good - the 'veins' on the insect blend wonderfully with those on the leaf. The butterfly's proboscis is gently bent through over a right angle to disappear into the flower.


Ref: 20170702_df3_20170510_1632_287 brimstone butterfly male feeding on white dead-nettle (lamium album) flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 18 May 2023 at 10:44    Image of day on 07 Jul 2023

Red Campion is flowering in many locations. This pristine male Brimstone Butterfly makes the most of the nectar.


Ref: 20230707_df3_20230518_1044_022 brimstone butterfly male feeds on red campion flower(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 28 May 2009 at 14:23    Image of day on 27 Jun 2009

Brimstone butterflies have been a delight this week, the male fluttering around the perched female and spiralling together into the sky


Ref: 20090627_db1_20090528_1423_073 brimstone butterfly male fluttering round female on red campion (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 10 Aug 2016 at 15:06    Image of day on 26 Sep 2016

This male Brimstone Butterfly was feeding on the Purple Loosestrife flowers and fluttering between the stems. Start bottom left and follow clockwise.


Ref: 20160926_df3_20160810_1506_084-087 brimstone butterfly male flying between flowers of purple loosestrife (lower left clockwise) 1-4 of 4 (approx montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 02 Aug 2015 at 12:54    Image of day on 04 Oct 2015

This male Brimstone Butterfly made several flights for us, but his tendency to fly very fast upwards made portraits difficult. Here we montage 2 flights to make an impression. The cut at the top was not an artistic choice!


Ref: 20151004_da1_20150802_1254_321+1255_324+1240_282_ft1 brimstone butterfly male in 2 flights + thistle flower (montage)(r+mb id@1024).jpg

Image Taken on 26 Feb 2022 at 12:40    Image of day on 31 Mar 2022

First of the year - male Brimstone Butterfly whizzing about over the garden bushes, hedges etc. This time we got lucky with a hand-held camera to get a reasonable image of this delight-in-flight.
We hope this year to refurbish the kit we use to photograph insects in flight. You can see our efforts over the last few years as about 400 images starting at page http://www.moorhen.me.uk/iodsubject/insects_in_flight_in_controlled_setup_01.htm#01


Ref: 20220331_df3_20220226_1240_188 brimstone butterfly male in flight - first of 2022(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 03 May 2009 at 15:04    Image of day on 27 May 2009

Did not get a good view of both sides of the wing together, so here is what you see from underneath or when the wings are folded.


Ref: 20090527_dc1_20090503_1504_183+1453_150 ft1 brimstone butterfly male in flight bottom with bluebell (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 03 May 2009 at 15:00    Image of day on 27 May 2009

The Brimstone butterflies are a bit tatty and a little faded, but still lovely. Seen feeding on these (probably hybridised) bluebells so we have used them as 'decoration'.


Ref: 20090527_dc1_20090503_1500_159+1451_145 ft1 brimstone butterfly male in flight top with bluebell (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 05 Jun 2010 at 16:50    Image of day on 14 Jul 2010

This Brimstone butterfly is in surprisingly good condition for June. This image in flight shows the top of the wing (brightest yellow), bottom of wing (greeny-yellow) and body all in one 'lucky' image.


Ref: 20100714_da1_20100605_1650_194+1657_223_ft1 brimstone butterfly male in flight with ground ivy flowers (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 18 Aug 2012 at 14:39    Image of day on 28 Sep 2012

This the a Brimstone butterfly (often the first butterfly of the year after over-wintering as adults) but this one will have emerged this year. It is difficult to see both sides of the wing together because when they perch they close their wings, making this in-flight photo unusual. This male is yellow - the females are white, but still have the orange spot.


Ref: 20120928_da1_20120818_1439_142+1536_278_ft1 brimstone butterfly male in flight with thistle flowers (montage)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Nov 2018 at 12:48    Image of day on 05 Jan 2019

In the middle of the Autumn days we see occasional butterflies. Here a male Brimstone was flittering around in our excuse for the front garden, and suddenly disappeared. It took a minute or so search to find the insect in among blackberry leaves looking just like a slightly more 'autumned' leaf. Better camouflage than you might imagine.


Ref: 20190105_df3_20181115_1248_002+1249_006 brimstone butterfly male late in season hiding in bush 1+2 of 2 (montage)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 18 Apr 2018 at 10:52    Image of day on 27 May 2018

There seem to be quite a lot of male Brimstone butterflies waking from their winter sleep. Rarely stopping in their search for a mate, they do occasionally need to stop for a re-fuel, here on a group of Forget-me-not flowers.


Ref: 20180527_df3_20180418_1052_106 brimstone butterfly male on forget-me-not flower (crop)(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 11 May 2017 at 15:22    Image of day on 05 Jul 2017

Brimstone Butterflies seem to have been on-the-wing for weeks. Here one is enjoying a Green Alkanet Flower.


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Image Taken on 11 Apr 2012 at 15:15    Image of day on 06 May 2012

A male Brimstone butterfly feeding on the carpet of Ground Ivy


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Image Taken on 06 May 2018 at 09:28    Image of day on 22 Jun 2018

The vivid yellow of the male Brimstone Butterfly is on the 'top' of the wing. The underside of the wing has this greenish colour. The top of the female's wing is white, and the bottom paler than this males, but with the same spots and contour.


Ref: 20180622_df3_20180506_0928_054 brimstone butterfly male on ground ivy with nettle behind(r+mb id@768).jpg

Image Taken on 07 Apr 2015 at 12:32    Image of day on 23 May 2015

A few warm days has woken the over-wintering butterflies. This male Brimstone Butterfly (on the left) stops off for a snack on some Primrose flowers. This insect is really hard to spot on these flowers if you don't see it land.


Ref: 20150523_df3_20150407_1232_336 brimstone butterfly male on primrose flower (crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

Image Taken on 15 Mar 2009 at 11:51    Image of day on 04 Apr 2009

Harbinger of spring 2 - a male Brimstone butterfly on a primrose flower. From a distance it is very hard to see the insect until it moves.


Ref: 20090404_db1_20090315_1151_019 brimstone butterfly male on primrose flowers (web crop)(r+mb id@576).jpg

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