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Project Noah Nature School
Pyronia tithonus
Female. The gatekeeper butterfly prefers the habitat of meadow margins and hedges. The adults are often found around blackberry brambles. 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. The Gatekeeper likes to rest with its wings open and the eyespots visible. It is called "Gatekeeper" apparently due to its frequent occurrence near field gates and to the man who was responsible for the toll gates in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
Brambles close to sea cliffs.
Camera Model: NIKON D300. Exposure Time: 1/500 sec.; f/11; ISO Speed Rating: 800. Exposure Bias: 0 EV. Focal Length: 300.0 mm. No flash fired
Spotted on Aug 28, 2016
Submitted on Mar 23, 2017
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