Gatekeeper Butterfly
Pyronia tithonus
The adult gatekeeper is a warm-season butterfly of hedgerows, woodland rides, rough grassland, and flower-rich field margins. It drinks nectar from bramble, ragwort, thistles, and other summer flowers while patrolling sunny gaps and edges. Its fluttering flight is agile rather than powerful, and the eyespots on the wings can help deflect or startle predators. This species is especially associated with gateways and hedge openings, which inspired its common name.
- Type
- Wing
- Conservation status
- NE
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Gatekeeper Butterfly