meadow fritillary | skymeadows

meadow fritillary (Boloria bellona)

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

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

IDENTIFICATION: Forewing squared off below tip. Upperside orange-
red with heavy black markings. Underside of hindwing patterned with
orange and purple-brown; off-white basal patch and metallic silver spots
lacking.

LIFE HISTORY: Males patrol meadows with a low flight, during warm
daytime hours. Females lay eggs on twigs and plants other than the host
violets. Caterpillars feed on violet leaves and hibernate when in the third
to fourth stage of development.

FLIGHT: Two to three broods from late April to mid-October.

WING SPAN: 1 3/8 - 2 inches (3.5 - 5.1 cm).

CATERPILLAR HOSTS: Violets including northern white violet (Viola
pallens) and woolly blue violet (V. sororia).

ADULT FOOD: Favorite nectar sources are composites, including
black-eyed susans, dandelions, and ox-eyed daisy. Plants from other
families, such as verbena and dogbane, are visited less often.

HABITAT: Usually wet places marshes, wet aspen groves.

RANGE: Eastern British Columbia east through southern Canada and
northern United States to Newfoundland; south to northcentral Oregon,
central Colorado, northeast Tennessee, and northwest North Carolina.
Due to its adaptability to disturbed habitats, the butterfly is expanding
its range southward from the southeastern states.

CONSERVATION: Not usually of conservation concern.

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.