This marker on the Cambridge Butterfly Trail is at Coleridge recreation ground – see the map above.

The Brimstone butterfly is one of the earliest butterflies to appear each spring in the UK, often seen on warm days as early as February. Its vivid lemon-yellow wings in males (paler greenish-white in females) make it a likely inspiration for the word "butter-fly".

A master of camouflage, the brimstone rests with wings closed, perfectly mimicking a leaf. It overwinters as an adult, sheltering in ivy or dense vegetation, which allows it to take immediate advantage of spring warmth.

Brimstones are strongly associated with buckthorn and alder buckthorn, the only larval food plants; the female lays eggs singly on the underside of young leaves. While widespread in southern Britain, its range is limited by the availability of these food plants, though garden planting schemes and mild winters are supporting a northward expansion. Adults have a long lifespan for butterflies, living up to a year.

For more information, please visit Butterfly Conservation’s page on this species – Brimstone.