Range:
This species has a fairly extensive from southern British Columbia and
central Alberta across the southern half of Canada to Nova Scotia; from the
Pacific Northwest across the northern half of the U.S. to the Atlantic, extending
south into central California, northern New Mexico, and northern Georgia. It
occurs through much of Idaho.
Habitat:
Its preferred habitat includes woodlands, forests and forest openings, and moist meadows.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on the leaves of several species of violets (Viola
spp.).
Adult:
Butterflies drink nectar from a wide variety of flowers, 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-June through September. Some adult females may enter a kind of diapause
during the summer after mating. They re-emerge in late August or September to
lay their eggs. Fritillaries are long-lived for a butterfly, surviving several
weeks to months.
Reproduction:
Males patrol
to find receptive females. 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:
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Global Rank: |
G5; most populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. Western populations, however, may be declining due to destruction of habitat. |
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.