great spangled fritillary

Great spangled fritillary is a large, long-lived, fritillary butterfly. The wingspan is 2½″ to 3½″.

The upperside of both wings are orange, orangish-brown toward the center, with black stripes, spots, and chevrons. On the outer margin there is a band (marginal band) of spots that have dark borders and are separated by heavy, dark veins. On most individuals all of the spots in this band on the forewing are orange and distinct, even at the wing tip. On some individuals the spots on the forewing band are brown or brownish tinged, especially toward the wing tip. The spots on the hindwing band are always orange, never black. There is a submarginal band of chevron-shaped black spots, a postmedial band of round black spots, and a medial band with black stripes. The wing veins of the middle portion of the forewing are bordered with black scales, making them appear thick.

The underside of the forewing is mostly orange, orangish-brown toward the center, with an orangish-brown marginal band, black markings mirroring those on the upperside, and a few small white spots near the tip.

The underside of the hindwing is reddish-brown, with a reddish-brown marginal band, a submarginal row of 7 silvery spots, a postmedial row of 6 large and 1 small silvery spots, and several silvery spots in the discal area. The two rows of spots are separated by a wide yellowish band. The yellowish band partially surrounds all of the postmedial spots.

The eyes are brownish-orange.

Females are larger and darker than males.

The caterpillar is mostly black and up to 2¼″ long. The head is orange above, black below. Each abdominal segment has 5 branched, spike-like projections (scoli), one on the upper (dorsal) surface, and on each side one in the subdorsal area and one in the spiracular area. The lower half of all of the scoli are orange or tan. Mature caterpillars are found in May and June.

2½″ to 3½″ wingspan

Aphrodite fritillary (Argynnis aphrodite) is a slightly smaller butterfly, with a wingspan no more than 3¼″. On most individuals all of the spots in marginal band of the upperside of the forewing, especially toward the wing tip, are black and indistinct, giving the appearance of a broad black border. The wing veins of the middle portion of the forewing are thin. There is an “extra” black spot at the base of the forewing. On the underside of the forewing the white spots at the tip are larger. The yellowish band separating the rows of silvery spots on the underside of the hindwing, if present, is narrow and does not surround any part of the large postmedial spots. The eyes are yellowish-green.

Atlantis fritillary (Argynnis atlantis) is a smaller butterfly. The outer band of the upper hindwing is mostly black.

Open woodlands, prairies, meadows, roadsides; prefers moist areas

One brood; mid June to early September

Males emerge in mid-June or July, 2 to 4 weeks before the females. Mating occurs in open areas in July. Females lay eggs on or near violets in late summer. Males die in October, females in October or early September. The eggs hatch in the fall. The newly hatched caterpillars overwinter, not feeding until the spring.

Violet leaves

Nectar of violets, thistles, and other large flowers.

Sources

7, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82, 83.

Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu, 5/6/2025).

Common and widespread

A recent analysis of the tribe Argynnini (Simonsen et al., 2006), based on previously published morphological and new mitochondrial DNA data, resulted in a reclassification of the entire tribe. The study found no reason to split the “larger fritillaries” into a large number of genera, and proposed uniting them all in the genus Argynnis. The genus Speyeria is therefore included as a subgenus. A later study of mostly North American butterflies (Zhang, et al., 2020), based on genomic sequencing, supported moving Speyeria to a subgenus of Argynnis. The move has not been universally accepted. Zhang suggests that the reasons are historic, not scientific.

Several generations of American naturalists were raised being accustomed to the name Speyeria and are less familiar with the name Argynnis, thus being resistant to abandoning Speyeria as a genus name.

Great Spangled mating...

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterflies...

At the Twin Valley Prairie SNA. Late June 2020. They seemed to be the most abundant larger or noticeable species at that time. Filmed and photographed them… These images are from 4k video.

Upper side

Underside

Krautwurm’s fritillary (Argynnis cybele krautwurmi) at Scenic State Park

Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly
Andree Reno Sanborn

Argynnis cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary)
Allen Chartier

Great Spangled Fritillary
Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren

Great Spangled Fritillary
jt893x

"Fritillary Butterflies" filmed by Dan W. Andree
May 5, 2025

Great Spangled Fritillary August 31, 2013
Don Gagnon

Great Spangled Fritillary nectaring
metapathogen

Life Dances on the Smith River
Lynn Pritchett

Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly feeding on purple coneflowers
PrettyWorld2011

Nectaring Great Spangled Fritillaries - Clermont County, Ohio, USA
mangoverde2

Location: Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

Great Spangled mating...

Location: Rochester, Mn

Check out this rare royalty for Rochester Mn! First time for us!

Location: Ramsey, MN

Location: just west of Houston, MN

Location: Fairview Twp, Cass County

Location: Twin Valley Prairie SNA

They seemed to be the most abundant larger or noticeable species at that time. Filmed and photographed them… These images are from 4k video.

Location: Noerenberg Memorial Gardens - Three Rivers Park District, Crystal Bay, Lake Minnetonka MN

Location: Cass County