(Vallantin, 1894)
Southern Gatekeeper
Description:
The Southern Gatekeeper can be found on dry grasslands, rocky slopes with grassy vegetation, in open scrub, and now and then in woodland clearings. The food plants are grasses, probably Tufted Hair-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) although this is not exactly certain.
This butterfly species has one or two broods a year, and passes the winter as a caterpillar.
Habitat:
Evergreen woodland
Dry siliceous grasslands
Dry calcareous grasslands
Phrygana vegetation
Sclerophyllous scrub
Similar species:
Pyronia tithonus
Maniola jurtina
Hyponephele lycaon