regal fritillary

not listed

N3 - Vulnerable

S3 - Vulnerable

Special Concern

2⅝″ to 4⅛″ wingspan

Tall grass prairie, wet fields, meadows, marshes.

One brood: mid-June to early September.

In Minnesota, mostly prairie violet (Viola pedatifida var. pedatifida), but also birdfoot violet (Viola pedata) and possibly northern bog violet is (Viola nephrophylla).

Nectar from flowers of milkweed, thistle, red clover, and mountain mint.

Sources

6, 7, 20, 21, 24, 29, 30, 71, 75, 82.

Uncommon

“Regal Frtitllary Butterflies”

Regals are absolutely beautiful when they just emerge.

Regal Fritillary - female

Female, Sept. 10, 2013

Female, Sept. 18, 2014

Location: Norman Co., Mn.

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.

Location: Norman Co., Mn.

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.

Location: Scientific and Natural Area in Norman Co. Mn.

...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.

Location: a Scientific and Natural Area in Norman county, Mn.

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.

Location: SNA in Mn

It shows the bluish sheen on the one wing that is in sunlight.

Location: SNA in Mn

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.

Location: SNA in Minnesota

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.

Location: SNA in Mn.

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.

Location: SNA in Norman Co. Mn.

Regals are absolutely beautiful when they just emerge.

Location: Norman Co. Mn.

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

Location: Rural Norman Co. Mn.

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.

Location: Rural Norman Co. Mn.

Location: Frenchman’s Bluff SNA

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.

Location: Hole-in-the-Mountain Prairie

Location: Pope County, Ben Wade Township, on a WPA

Female, Sept. 18, 2014

Location: Pope County, Chippewa Falls Township, near Terrace

Female, Sept. 10, 2013