Range:
This species of Fritillary has a fairly small range, from southern Alberta and
Manitoba south to northern New Mexico. It has been documented to occur in Idaho only in Franklin County.
Habitat:
It occurs in prairies and grasslands, forest openings, and
chaparral.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of violets (Viola spp.), especially
V. adunca and V. nuttallii.
Adult:
Butterflies drink flower nectar, often from thistles (Cirsium spp.)
and dogbane (Apocynum spp.), and may obtain additional moisture and nutrients
from dung.
Ecology:
There is one new generation of caterpillars each year. Eggs hatch in the
fall; the newly emerged caterpillars, having not yet fed, enter a physiological
state called diapause
to overwinter. In the spring the young caterpillars feed on the new leaves of
host plants.
Adults generally fly
from mid-May through late October. Fritillaries are long-lived for a butterfly,
surviving several weeks to months.
Reproduction:
Males patrol
in search of receptive females in open areas. pheromones
,
chemicals used to locate and attract the opposite sex, are produced by both
male and female Fritillaries. These chemicals are believed to play an important
role in assisting these butterflies to find and recognize other members of their
own species. Eggs are laid singly near host plants. In cases where the violet
plant has already withered and blown away, females are still able to lay their
eggs near to where the host plant will reappear the next spring. This is possible,
it is believed, because females are able to locate violet roots by smell!
Conservation:
![]() |
![]() |
Global Rank: | G5; populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. |
Opler, P. A., H. Pavulaan, and R. E. Stanford. 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, North Dakota, USA: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05Nov98).
Opler, P. A. and A. B.Wright. 1999. A Field Guide to the Western Butterflies. Second Edition. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, New York, USA, 540 pp.
Pyle, R. M. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New York, USA, 924 pp.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA, 583 pp.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western U.S.A. Butterflies (Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico). Published by authors, Denver, Colorado, USA, 275 pp.