(Speyeria idalia)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Biology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status |
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IUCN Red List | not listed |
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NatureServe | N3 - Vulnerable S3 - Vulnerable |
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Minnesota | Special Concern Species in Greatest Conservation Need |
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Description |
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Size |
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2⅝″ to 4⅛″ wingspan |
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Similar Species |
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Habitat |
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Tall grass prairie, wet fields, meadows, marshes. |
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Biology |
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Season |
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One brood: mid-June to early September. |
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Behavior |
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Life Cycle |
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Larva Hosts |
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In Minnesota, mostly prairie violet (Viola pedatifida var. pedatifida), but also birdfoot violet (Viola pedata) and possibly northern bog violet is (Viola nephrophylla). |
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Adult Food |
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Nectar from flowers of milkweed, thistle, red clover, and mountain mint. |
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Distribution |
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Sources |
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8/5/2022 | ||||
Occurrence |
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Uncommon |
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Taxonomy |
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Order |
Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) | ||
Suborder |
Glossata | ||
Infraorder | Heteroneura | ||
Superfamily |
Papilionoidea (butterflies) | ||
Family |
Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies) | ||
Subfamily |
Heliconiinae (fritillaries and longwings) | ||
Tribe |
Argynnini (fritillaries) | ||
Genus |
Speyeria (greater fritillaries) | ||
Synonyms |
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Argynnis idalia |
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Common Names |
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regal fritillary |
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Visitor Photos |
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Share your photo of this insect. |
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This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach one or more photos and, if you like, a caption. |
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Dan W. Andree |
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Female Regal... Same area same regal. I got a photo of another female but it isn’t the best just good enough for me to identify it was a different female similar in size to this one. The 3rd female was way far away from these two and smaller. She flew right below me unexpectedly. I didn’t even see her until she was about 3 ft. away from me and below. A wind gust came up and as I was getting the camera up she somehow vanished. So didn’t get any photo of that one. But she was a bit smaller. The two larger similar sized ones were nearing the size of a smaller monarch. |
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Female Regal Fritillary... I finally seen a couple females at Frenchman’s Bluff SNA. There were many monarchs but only a couple regals. I don’t know if you post where they are located since they are a vulnerable species. Anyway she was faded a bit and had a chunk torn out of one of her lower wings but seemed overall in good health for this late in Summer. Guessing she was in the egg laying time of her life. So I was glad to see they didn’t go entirely extinct from the previous 2021 season of extreme heat and drought conditions. The prairies are in good condition with a lot of flowers in bloom right now. Had rain recently so growth is good. Seen this female regal 8-25-22. |
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Male Regal... A rarer sight compared to even the Monarch’s. Seen this male which stopped briefly to feed before flying off again patrolling the prairie for a female. Regals are a true native to the Tallgrass Prairies. They are born there, live a short life and pretty much die there. A lot harder to find than some of the other species. I always consider any a rare find and one of beauty. |
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Male Regal Fritillary down in the grass... It was a hard angle to try capture this male regal fritillary. It kind of crawled around and paused. A breeze blowing grasses made it difficult to get a clear shot but it was a beautiful butterfly and is also a species of special concern here in Minnesota. The colors made me think of golden tiger orange and a midnight blue on its lower wing areas in sunlight. This was about as good a photos I could get without scaring it. |
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From open to closed wings... from late June to first couple days of July 2021 |
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Recently emerged male regal... This male regal landed on a prairie plant and almost looked like it was floating in air. A male that just recently emerged I encountered earlier this 2021 season. I filmed it and the breeze moved its wings on and off while it remained perched. I cropped a 4k frame grab to get the photos. I’m sure by now this male has faded some and probably has worn torn wings which happens once they patrol the prairies in a hurry to find a mate during their very short lives. The wind, heat, smoke from forest fires and this seasons drought conditions as well as predators can have an adverse effect on butterflies etc. Particularly on species of special concern like regals which are not as common or abundant as some other species. |
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Wings open... Male Regal Fritillary early July 2021. A second male is behind this one barely noticeable. Beautiful wing patterns and color. |
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Male Regal showing a little blue.... This male regal fritillary was just resting on the prairie grasses and noticed it was showing a little of that iridescent blue that occurs when the lighting hits the lower wing areas just right. Most noticeable on the right side. Seemed like that area hit the light source more for it to show. Hopefully we can continue to keep this “Species of Special Concern” in Mn. There seems to be many programs, people or groups working to help out with “Saving the Monarch” and I think that is wonderful and they should keep doing it, but not that many promoting the survival of the Regal Fritillary. Probably because they are so less known to people. They do not show up in as many types of places like the Monarch so it makes sense they are much less known about. I found them to be quite beautiful in the early part of their short lives and feel they should be monitored closely so they do not end up extinct like in a lot of their former ranges. Feel real fortunate to find one to film etc. For the Regal’s… Dan 🙂 |
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Male Regal Fritillary butterfly wings closed... This male regal fritillary did open and close its wings while filming it but thought I’d send one with the wings closed. Filmed it on a nice early July 2021 day which was before the smoke haze rolled in. I did see a female regal fritillary recently I went out one early evening after work but I didn’t see it until it flew up and down wind out of view. Seen one too on feeding a prairie flower but couldn’t get set up in time to film her. The female regal is really nice too. May go out tomorrow morning the smoke haze is suppose to be less. So will see what tomorrow brings. |
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Bee/wasp attacking Regal's... It tried a couple times then dive bombed and struck the male regal on the right hitting that regals body part and the regal took off and so did the other one. The bee or wasp photo where it is by itself just circled looking down at the thistle and flew off. Regals are really beautiful early in their short lives. These are really small 4k frame grabs. |
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Wings wide spread.... The lighting was harsh and the temperatures warm during the morning of July 4, 2021 but the the male regal was beautiful to say the least despite the conditions. One cannot pick the type of day, lighting etc. often in certain situations in nature. This is a 4k frame grab. I always see so many more monarchs when out and about in nature than regals. |
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Male Regal Fritillary... I cropped a 4k frame grab. Only seen this one single one. Beautiful butterfly. |
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Female Regal Fritillary down in the grass... While I was filming her she crawled way down into the grass and out of site. I just left her be after that. Early Summer 2020 at a Prairie Preserve in Minnesota. Only seen a couple female Regals the whole 2020 season. There were times at the same preserve I didn’t see any. |
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Female Regal Fritillary Butterfly.... I recently filmed and photographed this female Regal Fritillary on a prairie in Minnesota. I believe she had just recently emerged and her color was beautiful. |
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“Regal Frtitllary Butterflies” |
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Regal Fritillary Bluish Sheen on lower wing -male It shows the bluish sheen on the one wing that is in sunlight. |
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On a Prairie Preserve in Minnesota... Regal Fritillary mating SNA in Mn. Really interesting wing patterns on Regals. Also that bluish sheen they can have in certain lighting on the lower wing areas is pretty cool as well. I feel fortunate to have come across the Regal and have gained a lot of respect and admiration for these butterflies. |
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Female Regal Fritillary & Goldenrod Soldier Beetle.... ...on a Thistle flower. Seen a lot of the Goldenrod Soldier Beetles but very few female Regal’s. Male Regal’s had pretty much died off. Noticed Monarch’s were fairly abundant throughout the preserve. |
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Interesting colored male .... Regal Fritillary. This season the first I seen of any Regal Fritillary butterflies was early July. This image is from over a week later and not sure the exact date this male first emerged. Male Regal’s in particular fade in color with time. It doesn’t take that long of time either. I noticed earlier in July the males were more reddish orange with some not as reddish tinted as others. They almost glowed. Then they constantly seemed to patrol the prairie hovering above the prairie grasses etc. searching for any females that may have emerged. This male has started fading but had an interesting color tint before it would eventually fade to a dull varying grayish tan brown mix with shredded wings etc. Such short lives they live and how different they look from when they first emerge to when nearing the end of the Regal’s short life. The female Regal tends to live longer into the season due to laying her eggs. Both male and female Regal Fritillary are beautiful when in their prime of life. Certainly deserve preservation. |
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Male and Female Regal Fritillary... I was real fortunate to capture the male regal after it recently emerged and feeding. Otherwise they seemed to just fly up and down the prairie areas looking for any emerged females. Hard to photograph or film then. Once in a while they land and either feed or rest but when they decide to do that is very unpredictable. Then the males go right back to looking for the female Regal. Also right now the majority of the males have faded with some shredded wings and nearing the end of their life. Stunning butterflies especially when they are just recently emerged and in the early stage of their very short lives. These were at a SNA in Minnesota. Seen more male Regal’s not that they were overly abundant or anything and only seen a couple female and at times none. |
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Mating Regal Fritillary..... I was fortunate to come across a pair mating. I didn’t disturb them and they mainly sat stationary moving around slightly and once in a while opening and closing their wings. I filmed and photographed them since I am working on another regal fritillary video segment. I do not try to disturb anything in nature that I attempt to photograph or film. I figure most things in nature have enough struggles and disturbances in their lives. I will admit sometimes when walking through grasslands some insects, butterflies and even some birds can go unseen until you accidentally startled them to fly off or come into view. The mating regals were still in the same spot that day when I quietly and slowly backed away from them and left their area. |
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Regals are absolutely beautiful when they just emerge. |
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Regal Fritillary & Monarch together... Not the best lighting etc. for photography but one cannot pick the time or type of day when nature shows up. Kind of rare to see a Regal Fritillary and Monarch close enough to get them together in a photo. Aug. 2019 was the first time I ever seen a Regal Fritillary in my life. But both are beautiful butterflies, though I seen quite a few more Monarch’s than Regal Fritillary’s. Taken Aug. 16, 2019 at a Prairie Preserve in Norman county, Mn |
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Regal Fritillary... The female was just taking flight. A “species of special concern” here in Minnesota. I found them to be a really interesting butterfly adding diversity and beauty to prairie areas. A Goldenrod Soldier beetle can also been seen on the flower. Seen many of them this past season. I came across this female Regal Fritillary during the second half of the month of August 2019 on a prairie in rural Norman Co. Mn. |
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Regal Fritillary - female |
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Regal Fritillary female on... Prairie Blazing Star flower. Filmed her too. Only seen 2 females and 1 male. The male just kept flying and wouldn’t land long enough. I did get a brief close look at the male and it was pretty nice compared to some scruffy ones I seen some weeks back. |
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Dave Jungst |
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video still of egg laying |
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a pair of mating Regal Fritillary butterflies |
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Female, Sept. 18, 2014 |
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Female, Sept. 10, 2013 |
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Nancy Falkum |
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Blazing Star, Rough w/Regal Fritillary |
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Laura Baxley |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Share your video of this insect. |
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This button not working for you? Simply email us at info@MinnesotaSeasons.com. Attach a video, a YouTube link, or a cloud storage link. |
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Dan W. Andree |
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"Regal Fritillary Butterfly" Male & Female Early Summer 2020 Feb 1, 2021 |
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About
Filmed at a Scientific and Natural Area during the early Summer of 2020. A vulnerable species, declining in some areas and gone extinct in much of its former range. There is informative text at the beginning of the video followed by up close images of both male and female. Relaxing background music added. I was fortunate to come across the regals early in their short lives. They are quite interesting and colorful but can fade and get damaged wings in a matter of a few weeks particularly the males that seem to almost constantly patrol the prairie looking for females. Their lifespan is short and they have no time to waste. ...Hope you enjoy this. |
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"The Regal Fritillary Butterfly" filmed by Dan W Andree 2019 Dec 24, 2019 |
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About
A short video I put together after encountering the Regal Fritillary butterfly for the first time late summer 2019. From mid August to Sept. 1st. The video shows all female regals because that time of the year most males have died off or close to it, I read. I am no expert on this butterfly but did develop a soft spot for them. They seem to be struggling in areas. Perhaps next season I will do a revised version of this video and add the male and female in the earlier stage of their lives. But next season is a ways away so will just upload this short version. Hope you enjoy it. |
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Other Videos |
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Regal Fritillary pengelhard1 |
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About
Uploaded on Dec 7, 2011 No description available. |
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Regal Fritillary Butterfly lives in military impact area Bob Smith |
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About
Uploaded on Mar 1, 2011 This rare insect lives at Fort Indiantown Gap, in central Pennsylvania, right in the middle of training areas. How does this work? Well, it does. I did this piece for National Guard Bureau Public affairs. |
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Regal Fritillaries at Maxwell WA kdwpinfo |
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About
Uploaded on Jun 24, 2010 Abundant regal fritillary butterflies show that the prairie habitat is in great shape at Maxwell Game Refuge near Canton. Visit KDWP wildlife areas for the best of the Kansas outdoors. |
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