Gatekeeper Butterfly

This medium-sized butterfly is very active on the allotment, particularly by the hedgerow - it is also known as the Hedge Brown. It is abundant on site at the moment with July/August reaching peak population - there is only one generation per year.

The female lays a single egg in a shaded location on, or near, a foodplant - usually meadow grasses. They can lay 100 eggs in this way. The larva hatches about 3 weeks later and feeds/develops/hibernates until Spring - full details of its lifecycle are available on the excellent UK Butterflies site.

It is quite easily confused with the Meadow Brown butterfly, but the Gatekeeper tends to be more orange and a final identifier can be those two white dots on it’s lower underwing and the two white dots within the black marking on its upper wing, seen above. 

The butterfly enjoys supping nectar from flowers in warm weather, like this echinacea, so it’s a good pollinator and the caterpillars aren’t interested in our veg, so they’re very welcome on the allotment.