About Gonepteryx cleopatra (Linnaeus, 1767)
Gonepteryx cleopatra, commonly called the Cleopatra or Cleopatra butterfly, is a medium-sized butterfly belonging to the family Pieridae. This species is native to the Mediterranean region, which includes Southern Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. The Cleopatra butterfly lives in open woodland and scrub. Across most of its range, its flight period runs from May to August. Spain is an exception, where the species is double brooded and may fly almost all year. Adult Cleopatra butterflies hibernate in evergreen trees and shrubs. Caterpillars of this species feed on the buckthorn Rhamnus alaternus. When fully grown green caterpillars are ready to enter the pupal stage, they attach themselves to their host plant with a silk belt, on the underside of a leaf. The green chrysalis gradually turns yellow and red as the adult butterfly inside develops, showing the wing colors of the soon-to-emerge adult. In dry regions, Cleopatra butterflies carry out vertical migration between maquis lowland habitats and mountain fir forests. They emerge at low altitudes in spring, then migrate to higher mountain altitudes to stay there through the summer months, before descending back to low altitudes in autumn.
