This great spangled fritillary was enjoying the many native flowers
This photo was taken at Brown County State Park in southern Indiana. Jill and I had set up camp and were out for a hike on a hot summer day in July. This great spangled fritillary was enjoying the many native flowers that were outside the visitor center within the park. In the photo below, you can see one of the purple coneflowers whose nectar the butterfly was drinking.
The great spangled fritillary is found throughout North America. Its scientific name is Speyeria cybele. It belongs to the family Nymphalidae which is the largest family of butterflies. There are more than 6,000 species distributed throughout the world that are a part of this family. They tend to be medium to large-sized butterflies.
Nymphalidae butterflies are also known as brush-footed butterflies or four-footed butterflies. They are known as four-footed butterflies because their forelegs have become vestigial—or no longer used. Some speculate that they no longer use their forelegs because they have a set of soft hair called setae. They believe these are used to improve signaling and communication between the species.
Their forelegs have become vestigial
The great spangled fritillary is about 2.5-3.5 inches in wingspan. It is noted for its orange color
This butterfly is quite the sight to see. The great spangled fritillary is about 2.5-3.5 inches in wingspan. It is noted for its orange color. On its forewing there are five black dashes. On the hindwing there are several irregular black dashes. Along the edges of the wings there are two rows of black crescents. The underside of the hindwing has silver spots and is reddish brown—in difference to the orange that characterizes much of the rest of the wings.
There are a few defining characteristics of the different life cycle stages of the great spangled fritillary that are common to the Nymphalidae family. As a caterpillar, they are hairy with projections on the head. When in the chrysalids, they have shiny spots.
Did you know?
- There are 13 subfamilies in the Nymphalidae family this includes the Heliconiinae that the great spangled fritillary belongs to.
- There are more than 100 species in the tribe Argynnini that this butterfly species belongs to. Of those only 30 of the species are in North America.
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