- Gatekeeper Butterfly
Taxobox
name = Gatekeeper
image_width = 204px
image_caption = Female
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
subphylum =Hexapoda
classis =Insect a
ordo =Lepidoptera
unranked_familia =Rhopalocera
superfamilia =Papilionoidea
familia =Nymphalidae
subfamilia =Satyrinae
tribus =Satyrini
subtribus =Maniolina
genus = "Pyronia "
species = "P. tithonus"
binomial = "Pyronia tithonus"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus,1758 )The Gatekeeper ("Pyronia tithonus") sometimes called the "Hedge Brown" is a common butterfly in the
United Kingdom . It is a member of the subfamilySatyrinae in the familyNymphalidae . A similar species is theMeadow Brown , especially in the female sex, which likes to rest with closed wings however, especially the far less active females.The name "Gatekeeper" may refer to its frequent occurrence near field gates and to the man who was responsible for the
toll gate s in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when butterflies were more numerous than they are today. As indicated by its alternate name, the gatekeeper butterfly prefers thehabitat of meadow margins and hedges; field gates are often in such locations, and thus the Gatekeeper can be found much more frequently in such locations than the Meadow Brown for example.The
larva e of Satyrinae all feed on grasses, such asSheep's Fescue , and are usually green or brown in colour. Thepupae are a flimsy chrysalis either hanging upside down or lying in grass. The adults are often found roundblackberry plants. The adult butterflies have a quite short proboscis and the flowers of the blackberry being quite shallow provide an excellent nectar source. Males have a dark patch of scent scales in the middle of the forewing for courtship purposes except in very old individuals. This dark patch is clearly visible in the male Gatekeeper. The characteristic eyespots on the forewing probably deflectbird attacks away from the butterfly's body rather than startle away predators; the Gatekeeper likes to rest with its wings open and the eyespots visible. It flies more but strays about less than the male Meadow Brown (Stevens 2005).Two similar species of "Pyronia" are found in southern Europe, the Southern ("P. cecilia") and the
Spanish Gatekeeper ("P. bathsheba").References
* (2005): The role of eyespots as anti-predator mechanisms, principally demonstrated in the Lepidoptera. "Biol. Rev." 80(4): 573–588. doi|10.1017/S1464793105006810 (HTML abstract)
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