Great Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele (Fabricius, 1775)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Large. Upperside of male tan to orange with black scales on forewing veins; female tawny, darker than male. Underside of hindwing with wide pale submarginal band and large silver spots.
Wing Span: 2 1/2 - 4 inches (6.3 - 10.1 cm).
Life History: Males patrol open areas for females. Eggs are laid in late summer on or near host violets. Newly-hatched caterpillars do not feed, but overwinter until spring, when they eat young violet leaves.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to mid-September.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various violet species (Viola).
Adult Food: Nectar from many species of flowers including milkweeds, thistles, ironweed, dogbane, mountain laurel, verbena, vetch, bergamot, red clover, joe-pye weed, and purple coneflower.
Habitat: Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures, right-of-ways, meadows, open woodland, prairies.
Range: Alberta east to Nova Scotia, south to central California, New Mexico, central Arkansas, and northern Georgia. Comments: The most common fritillary throughout most of the eastern United States.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 8048 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 27, 2023
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
Observation date: Aug 29, 2023
Submitted by: Amcenhill
Region: Dutchess County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 30, 2023
Observation date: Aug 26, 2023
Submitted by: jthompson6112
Region: Ulster County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 29, 2023
Observation date: Jun 23, 2023
Submitted by: HansPG
Region: Van Buren County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 27, 2023
Observation date: Aug 25, 2023
Submitted by: Slreitz1952
Region: Warren County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 26, 2023
Observation date: Aug 26, 2023
Submitted by: maryjanzen
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 26, 2023
Observation date: Aug 23, 2023
Submitted by: lantana
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 23, 2023
Observation date: Aug 22, 2023
Submitted by: rapids
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 23, 2023
Observation date: Aug 21, 2023
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 23, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2017
Submitted by: mhearell
Region: Weber County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 22, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2017
Submitted by: dingoqueen
Region: Weber County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 22, 2023
Observation date: Aug 14, 2023
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 22, 2023
Observation date: Aug 20, 2023
Submitted by: maryjanzen
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 20, 2023
Observation date: Aug 08, 2023
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 18, 2023
Observation date: Aug 13, 2023
Submitted by: drmarc60223
Region: Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2023
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2023
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Aug 11, 2023
Submitted by: maryjanzen
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 12, 2023
Observation date: Aug 11, 2023
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Putnam County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 11, 2023
Observation date: Aug 03, 2023
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 11, 2023
Observation date: Aug 10, 2023
Submitted by: Sherry in Kansas
Region: Douglas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 11, 2023
Observation date: Jul 30, 2023
Submitted by: choover14
Region: Geauga County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2023
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 06, 2023
Observation date: Aug 04, 2023
Submitted by: MarkSCitsay
Region: Washington County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 05, 2023
- ‹ previous
- 2 of 336
- next ›