The Great Spangled Fritillary has the typical orange and black fritillary pattern on the upper side of the wings with silvery spangled areas on the underside of the wings. It has a wide yellow band between the silver spangles on the underside of the hind wing.

 

“Great Spangled Fritillary” by Frank D. Lospalluto, licensed under (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

 

Great Spangled Fritillary Facts

Butterfly Family: Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae)

Butterfly Subfamily: Heliconiinae

Butterfly Wingspan: 2 1/2 – 4 inches

Butterfly Habitat: Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures, meadows, open woodland, and prairies.

 

Great Spangled Fritillary Host and Nectar Plants

Host Plants:

• Violet (Viola species)

Nectar Plants:

• Milkweeds
• Thistles
• Ironweed
• Dogbane
• Mountain Laurel
• Verbena
• Vetch
• Bergamot
• Red Clover
• Purple Coneflower
• Joe-Pye Weed