Great Spangled Fritillary - Species Profile
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List
not listed
NatureServe
N5 - Secure
S5 - Secure
Minnesota
not listed
Description
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.
Size
Wingspan: 2½″ to 3½″
Similar Species
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.
Habitat
Open woodlands, prairies, meadows, roadsides; prefers moist areas
Ecology
Season
One brood; mid June to early September
Behavior
Life Cycle
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.
Larva Food/Hosts
Violet leaves
Adult Food
Nectar of violets, thistles, and other large flowers.
Distribution
Sources
7, 21, 24, 27, 30, 75, 82, 83.
Biodiversity occurrence data published by: Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas (accessed through the Minnesota Biodiversity Atlas Portal, bellatlas.umn.edu. Accessed 5/23/2026).
Argynnis cybele (Fabricius, 1775) in GBIF Secretariat (2023). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org. Accessed 5/23/2026.
Quinn, Edward. M., and Ron Danielson. April 27, 2009. A Survey of Lepidoptera in Three Priority Areas of the Minnesota State Parks System. https://files.dnr.state.mn.us/eco/nongame/projects/consgrant_reports/2009
/2009_quinn_danielson.pdf.
Occurrence
Common and widespread
Taxonomy
Order
Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily
Papilionoidea (Butterflies)
Family
Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Subfamily
Heliconiinae (Fritillaries and Longwings)
Tribe
Subtribe
Argynnina
Genus
Argynnis (Greater Fritillaries)
Subgenus
Speyeria
Genus
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.
Subordinate Taxa
Carpenter’s Fritillary (Argynnis cybele carpenterii)
Charlotte’s Spangled Fritillary (Argynnis cybele charlottii)
Chermock’s Fritillary (Argynnis cybele pseudocarpenteri) 
Common Great Spangled Fritillary (Argynnis cybele cybele)
Great Spangled Fritillary(Argynnis cybele novascotiae)
Krautwurm’s Fritillary (Argynnis cybele krautwurmi)
The western subspecies have been elevated from subspecies of the Great Spangled Fritillary (Argynnis cybele) to their own distinct species status: Leto Fritillary (Argynnis leto).
Leto Fritillary (Argynnis leto eileenae)
Letona Fritillary (Argynnis leto letona)
Puget Sound Fritillary (Argynnis leto pugetensis)
Synonyms
Argynnis baal
Argynnis bartschi
Argynnis daphnis
Speyeria cybele
Common Names
Great Spangled Fritillary
