Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 05.viii.2023

Pyronia tithonus / Gatekeeper
Titonja
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Pyronia tithonus (Linnaeus, 1771). TL: Germany.

1a. Pyronia tithonus, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Pyronia tithonus ♂ upperside. Gurshpatë, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Habitat of Pyronia tithonus. Gurshpatë, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Pyronia tithonus ♂ upperside. Gurshpatë, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Pyronia tithonus ♂ underside. Gurshpatë, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Pyronia tithonus ♀ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Pyronia tithonus ♂ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1h. Pyronia tithonus copula. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1i. Pyronia tithonus male underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 17-19 mm.
Ups: fulvous gc, darker brown on costa, large dark brown marginal band.
Upf: conspicuous sex-brand weakly disrupted by orange veins, double and often white-pupiled apical ocellus.
Unf: orange gc, double white-pupiled apical ocellus.
Unh: brown gc, small white dots enclosed in yellow-brown shades.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: slightly paler gc.
Unh: yellowish-brown gc.

Similar species

Pyronia cecilia Size:sligthly smaller or similar. Upf: ♂♂ rectangular sex-brand Upf: ♂♂ disrupted by orange veins. Upf: sex-brand in the cell. Uph: lacking ocellus. Uph: orange basal area. Unh: lightly marbled grey gc. Unh: no white dots.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from early July to end-August.
Egg: 14-22 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L2 or L3 larva.
Pupa: 16-21 days.

Habitat
Pyronia tithonus inhabits warm overgrown grasslands with scattered bushes and Rubus from lowland up to 1300 m.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Agrostis canina, A. capillaris, A. vinealis, Alopecurus pratensis, Brachypodium phoenicoides, B. pinnatum, Cynosurus cristatus, Dactylis glomerata, Deschampsia cespitosa, Elymus repens, Festuca gigantea, F. ovina, F. pratensis, F. rubra, Phleum pratense, Poa annua, P. compressa, P. nemoralis, P. pratensis and P. trivialis, also mentioned are Anthoxanthum odoratum, Bromus erectus, Carex caryophyllea, Lolium perenne, L. pratense, Milium effusum and Molinia caerulea.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers and often congregate on Rubus.

Distribution
Albania: local.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU*
Asia Minor.

Conservation status
Pyronia tithonus is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NE.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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