Cleopatra vs Fly Agaric

Gonepteryx cleopatra compared with Amanita muscaria

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Cleopatra	Fly Agaric
Kingdom	Animalia (動物)	Fungi (菌界)
Phylum	Arthropoda (節足動物)	Basidiomycota (担子菌門)
Class	Insecta (昆虫)	Agaricomycetes (真正担子菌綱)
Order	Lepidoptera (チョウ目)	Agaricales (ハラタケ目)
Family	Pieridae	Agaricaceae (Agarics)
Genus	Gonepteryx	Amanita (Amanitas)
Species	Gonepteryx cleopatra	Amanita muscaria

Conservation Status

Cleopatra

LC — Least Concern

Fly Agaric

LC — Least Concern

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Cleopatra	Fly Agaric
Diet	—	Decomposer
Average Lifespan	—	1 years
Average Length	—	20 cm
Average Weight	—	100 g

Habitat & Geographic Range

Cleopatra

Habitat

Inhabits Mediterranean forests and woodlands within the Palearctic biogeographic realm.

Range

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

Fly Agaric

Habitat

Typically found in forest floors, decomposing wood, and soil ecosystems.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (4 countries), North America (United States), Oceania and the Pacific (New Zealand), and South America (Brazil, Chile, Colombia).

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.

Fly Agaric

ベニテングタケ（Amanita muscaria）は地球上で最も象徴的で広く知られる菌類であり、北半球の北方林全域に白いいぼのある鮮やかな赤い傘を広げる。童話のような外見とは裏腹に、ムシモールやイボテン酸などの強力な向精神性化合物を含み、中程度の毒性がある。シラカバ、マツ、トウヒと重要な外生菌根共生関係を形成し、無機栄養素と炭素を交換することで北方林の栄養循環に不可欠な役割を担っている。