great spangled fritillary

great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

FAMILY: Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae)
SUBFAMILY: Longwings (Heliconiinae)

IDENTIFICATION: Large. Upperside of male tan to orange with black
scales on forewing veins; female tawny, darker than male. Underside
of hindwing with wide pale submarginal band and large silver spots.

LIFE HISTORY: Males patrol open areas for females. Eggs are laid in
late summer on or near host violets. Newly-hatched caterpillars do
not feed, but overwinter until spring, when they eat young violet leaves.

FLIGHT: One brood from mid-June to mid-September.

WING SPAN: 2 1/2 - 4 inches (6.3 - 10.1 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Various violet species (Viola).

ADULT FOOD: Nectar from many species of flowers including milkweeds,
thistles, ironweed, dogbane, mountain laurel, verbena, vetch, bergamot,
red clover, joe-pye weed, and purple coneflower.

HABITAT: Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures,
right-of-ways, meadows, open woodland, prairies.

RANGE: Alberta east to Nova Scotia, south to central California, New
Mexico, central Arkansas, and northern Georgia. Comments: The most
common fritillary throughout most of the eastern United States.

CONSERVATION: Not usually required.

NATURESERVE GLOBAL STATUS: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally,
though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the
periphery.

MANAGEMENT NEEDS: None reported.

SKY MEADOWS OCCURRENCE:

Note: Due to seasonal conditions in this region, occurrence may vary from

year to year. The designation of occurrence may range over two or more

categories and may vary even during a single season.

Key to Checklist

A   Abundant: Easy to see very large numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
C   Common: Usually each to see good numbers of individuals in appropriate habitat
      at proper time of year.
U   Uncommon: Sometimes found in appropriate habitat and proper time of year,
      usually in low numbers.
O   Occasional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times a year, usually
      in low numbers.
R   Rare: Small chance of being found, even in appropriate habitat at proper time of
      year. There are few individuals and may not be present every year.
X   Extirpated: Formerly present, no longer occurs in Sky Meadows Park.