# Spanish Gatekeeper

*Pyronia bathseba*

The double-pupilled eyespots on its wings act as a decoy, misleading hungry birds into striking harmless wing margins instead of its head.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Pyronia
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Sunny Mediterranean garrigue, dry grassy slopes, scrublands, and open woodland edges.
- **Diet:** Adults sip nectar from flowering brambles, thistles, and wild herbs; caterpillars feed on grasses such as Brachypodium.
- **Range:** Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Morocco, Algeria
- **Size:** 36-42 mm wingspan
- **Lifespan:** 2 to 4 weeks as an adult
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat loss from intensive agriculture, urbanization, and severe wildfire frequency.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. Safe to approach quietly for close observation. Does not bite, sting, or possess toxic allergens. Avoid touching to prevent damaging delicate wing scales.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/ebc65374-916f-4742-8df5-39df68c6fd53
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/208973
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyronia bathseba
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/1013324/medium.jpg (gailhampshire, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.