Pyronia bathseba

Pyronia bathseba, the Spanish gatekeeper, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found on the Iberian Peninsula and in France, Morocco, and Algeria. A similar gatekeeper species is Pyronia tithonus, which is found in northern Europe.

Spanish gatekeeper
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Pyronia
Species:	P. bathseba
Binomial name
Pyronia bathseba (Fabricius, 1793)[1]
Synonyms
Papilio bathseba Papilio pasiphae Epinephele pasiphae Maniola bathseba

Description

The wingspan is 18–19 mm. The butterfly is on wing from May to July depending on the location.

• 
  Male
• 
  Male underside
• 
  Female
• 
  Female underside

Biology

The larvae feed on Poaceae species, mainly Brachypodium species.