Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 2284_male_Var_4Jul06 | 17183_male_Alpes Maritimes_04Jul09 | 4769_female_Var_17Apr07 |
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| 9166_female_Dordogne_14Aug07 | 11553_female_Var_25Jun08 |
Very similar to the Brimstone (G. rhamni) (please see the rhamni page for comparative notes) and the two could easily be confused from looking at photos of the butterflies at rest i.e. the undersides, unless you see it in flight where the upf orange patches of cleopatra (male only) are quite clearly visible and quite breathtaking. I have seen cleopatra in many locations in southern France (I don’t think its range extends to the North) and in one favourite location in 2003 there were 10-12 on one small patch of flowers and, in fact, in southern France I would say it is decidedly more common than the rhamni. Like rhamni it never rests with wings open.
2284: a male, the orange upf flush showing through quite clearly. This is not easy to capture on film and the angle has to be just right. Altitude 230m.
17183: a male, just catching it nectaring with wings not quite fully closed, revealing a rare glimpse of the forewing orange patch. Altitude 1000m.
4769: the illustrations in T&L show the female underside as very pale, almost white, but my experience is that they are pale greenish-yellow. The wing tip is quite pointed, but I still feel it is cleopatra rather than rhamni. Altitude 30m.
9166: a female, also strongly yellow-green, and with a very large red unh cell spot. Altitude 70m.
11526: a female, quite pale in the lower part of the forewing. Altitude 60m.
11553: a female, quite a strong yellow streak through the forewing cell. Altitude 60m.
17183_male_Alpes Maritimes_04Jul09
