Meadow Fritillary
Boloria bellona (Fabricius, 1775)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Forewing squared off below tip. Upperside orange-red with heavy black markings. Underside of hindwing patterned with orange and purple-brown; off-white basal patch and metallic silver spots lacking.
Wing Span: 1 3/8 - 2 inches (3.5 - 5.1 cm).
Life History: Males patrol meadows with a low flight, during warm daytime hours. Females lay eggs on twigs and plants other than the host violets. Caterpillars feed on violet leaves and hibernate when in the third to fourth stage of development.
Flight: Two to three broods from late April to mid-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Violets including northern white violet (Viola pallens) and woolly blue violet (V. sororia).
Adult Food: Favorite nectar sources are composites, including black-eyed susans, dandelions, and ox-eyed daisy. Plants from other families, such as verbena and dogbane, are visited less often.
Habitat: Usually wet places marshes, wet aspen groves.
Range: Eastern British Columbia east through southern Canada and northern United States to Newfoundland; south to northcentral Oregon, central Colorado, northeast Tennessee, and northwest North Carolina. Due to its adaptability to disturbed habitats, the butterfly is expanding its range southward from the southeastern states.
Conservation: Not usually of conservation concern.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Alternate Scientific Names:
Clossiana bellona
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 1989 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: hockeybruce7
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Feb 04, 2023
Observation date: Aug 29, 2022
Submitted by: hockeybruce7
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Dec 22, 2022
Observation date: Oct 12, 2022
Submitted by: Cardinal52
Region: Fayette County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 24, 2022
Observation date: Oct 14, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 14, 2022
Observation date: Sep 28, 2022
Submitted by: jwilkinson
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 05, 2022
Observation date: Sep 24, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 01, 2022
Observation date: Sep 09, 2022
Submitted by: Jim Lowe
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Sep 12, 2022
Observation date: Sep 05, 2022
Submitted by: catbirdcat
Region: Carroll County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 11, 2022
Observation date: Jul 23, 1970
Submitted by: one72guy
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 07, 2022
Observation date: Sep 01, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 06, 2022
Observation date: Aug 31, 2022
Submitted by: moollylooloo
Region: Winona County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 31, 2022
Observation date: Aug 13, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 18, 2022
Observation date: Aug 02, 2022
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Yancey County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 17, 2022
Observation date: Jul 17, 2022
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Jul 22, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 13, 2022
Submitted by: KABerry
Region: Harrison County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 18, 2022
Observation date: Jun 28, 2022
Submitted by: rhedden
Region: Rensselaer County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 12, 2022
Observation date: Jul 02, 2022
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 05, 2022
Observation date: Jun 23, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 24, 2022
Observation date: Jun 22, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 22, 2022
Observation date: Jun 20, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 22, 2022
Observation date: Jul 11, 2021
Submitted by: misscrystal
Region: Hamilton County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 21, 2022
Observation date: Jul 10, 2021
Submitted by: sam_hartzler
Region: Johnson County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 20, 2022
Observation date: Jun 08, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 13, 2022
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