Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus)

Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus)

Description

Title:
Gatekeeper butterfly (Pyronia tithonus)
Caption / Description:

A Gatekeeper butterfly sips nectar from a Ragwort flower.

Description from Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gatekeeper_Butterfly):

The Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus), sometimes called the Hedge Brown, is a common butterfly in the United Kingdom. It is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae in the family Nymphalidae. A similar species is the Meadow 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 gates 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 the habitat 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 larvae of Satyrinae all feed on grasses, such as Rough Meadowgrass Poa trivialis, Smooth Meadow Grass Poa pratensis, Sheep's Fescue, and are usually green or brown in colour. The pupae are a flimsy chrysalis either hanging upside down or lying in grass. The adults are often found round blackberry 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 deflect bird 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).

Tags / Keywords:
  • Biota
  • Life
  • Vitae
  • Eukaryota
  • Animalia
  • Animals
  • Arthropoda
  • Arthropods
  • Insecta
  • Insects
  • Lepidoptera
  • Butterflies
  • Nymphalidae
  • Brush-footed butterflies
  • Four-footed butterflies
  • Ragwort
  • Pyronia
  • Pyronia tithonus
  • Gatekeeper
  • Hedge Brown

Admin

Date Original Photo Taken:
Original File Name:
_MG_3614.CR2
Event:
Rating:
Date this image added/last updated on website:
Original File Dimensions:
4272px x 2848px
File Type:
JPEG
Color Mode:
RGB
Original Image Color Profile:
Adobe RGB (1998)

Location

Location Created:
Sublocation:
City:
Market Harborough
Province/State:
Leicestershire
Country:
United Kingdom
World Region:
Europe
Geo-location:

Rights

Copyright Status:
Copyrighted
Licensing Status:
Rights Managed
Available for Editorial Use:
Yes
Available for Commercial Use:
Yes
Copyright Notice:
© 2010 Dave Kennard

Camera Data

Date Digital Resource was created:
Shutter speed:
1200 s
Aperture:
f/8
Camera Model:
Canon EOS 450D
ISO:
100
Exposure Compensation:
0
Focal Length:
100mm
Focal Length (35mm equiv.):
Metering Mode:
Multi-segment
Flash:
On, Fired
Exposure Mode:
Manual
White Balance:
Manual
Light Source:
Exposure Program:
Manual

Additional shooting metadata

Lens:
Canon EF 100mm F2.8 Macro USM
Filters used:
Additional Optics used:
Setup:
Handheld
Canon MT-24EX Macro Twin Flash with Home-made Concave diffusers

Post Processing

Image Modified:
Software used:
  • Adobe Camera RAW
Post Processing:

13 recovery in ACR