| Family | Nymphalidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Satyrinae |
| Genus | Pyronia |
| Species | tithonus |
| Authority | (Linnaeus, 1771) |
| English Name | Gatekeeper |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The Gatekeeper occurs on many different types of grassland. Mostly, it chooses rather rough, dry to damp vegetation, situated beside woodland or scrub, or not far from them. The butterflies are fond of basking in the sun on scrub, and are often seen visiting flowers. The female lays her eggs singly on the leaf-blades of nearly all soft grasses, such as Cock’s-foot (Dactylus spp.), fescues (Festuca spp.), bents (Agrostis spp.), and Rye-Grass (Lolium spp.). The caterpillar avoids bright sunlight, and feeds mostly on grasses growing in the shade. When half-grown, it hibernates in a tussock of grass. It completes its growth the following year, and pupates low down in the vegetation. The Gatekeeper is single-brooded.
Albania / Andorra / Austria (Possibly Present) / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia (Regionally Extinct) / Denmark (Irregular Vagrant) / France / France: Mainland / France: Corsica / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: East Aegean Islands / Hungary / Ireland / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sardinia / Luxembourg / North Macedonia / Montenegro / Netherlands / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Romania / San Marino / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia (Regionally Extinct) / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine (Regionally Extinct) / United Kingdom / United Kingdom: Great Britain / United Kingdom: Guernsey / United Kingdom: Jersey /