Baytop's Onion vs Cleopatra

Allium baytopiorum compared with Gonepteryx cleopatra

Key Differences

Baytop's Onion is Critically Endangered while Cleopatra is Least Concern.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Baytop's Onion	Cleopatra
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class	Liliopsida (Monocots)	Insecta (Insects)
Order	Asparagales (Asparagales)	Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths)
Family	Amaryllidaceae	Pieridae
Genus	Allium	Gonepteryx
Species	Allium baytopiorum	Gonepteryx cleopatra

Conservation Status

Baytop's Onion

CR — Critically Endangered

Cleopatra

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Baytop's Onion	Cleopatra
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Baytop's Onion

Habitat

Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Cleopatra

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

Found across Asia (Cyprus) and Europe (15 countries).

Baytop's Onion

The Baytop's Onion (Allium baytopiorum) is a species in the genus Allium. It is currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in grasslands, wetlands, forests, and cultivated landscapes.

Cleopatra

The Cleopatra, Gonepteryx cleopatra, is a large, striking butterfly in the family Pieridae found across the Mediterranean basin, including southern Europe from Portugal and Spain east to Greece and Turkey, and extending into North Africa and the Middle East. The species is closely related to the common Brimstone butterfly but is larger and more vividly colored. Males display brilliant yellow-orange upperwings with a distinctive deep orange patch on the forewing, while females are pale greenish-white, resembling the Brimstone. The undersides of both sexes are pale green, providing excellent camouflage when resting on vegetation. The Cleopatra inhabits warm, rocky hillsides, maquis, garrigue, woodland edges, and citrus groves where its larval host plants, buckthorns (Rhamnus species), are present. Adults are strong fliers, frequently visiting flowers for nectar. Like the Brimstone, the Cleopatra overwinters as an adult, sheltering in dense evergreen vegetation during the coldest months and re-emerging on warm winter days. The species produces one generation per year. It is widespread and locally common across its Mediterranean range and is assessed as Least Concern by IUCN, though habitat loss from agricultural intensification and urbanization affects local populations.