Regal Fritillary
Speyeria idalia (Drury, 1773)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Large. Upperside of forewing bright red-orange with black markings. Upperside of hindwing black with postmedian row of white spots; submarginal row of spots is orange in male and white in female.
Wing Span: 2 5/8 - 4 1/8 inches (6.7 - 10.5 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females with a low, steady flight. Females walk through vegetation to lay single eggs on various plants, even if the host violets are not present. Most eggs are laid in August. The caterpillars hatch and overwinter unfed; in spring they eat leaves of host plants.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to mid-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Violets including bird\'s foot violet (Viola pedata).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of milkweeds, thistles, red clover, and mountain mint.
Habitat: Tall-grass prairie and other open sites including damp meadows, marshes, wet fields, and mountain pastures.
Range: Tall-grass prairie remnants in Montana and North Dakota south to Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma; rare or absent from former range east of the Appalachians.
Conservation: Rapidly vanishing or declining in much of its range. A species of concern for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All populations should be conserved.
NCGR: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management Needs: Monitor populations and manage populations on public lands and preserves.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 904 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 15, 2025
Submitted by: klamke
Region: Pennington County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Nov 14, 2025
Observation date: Jun 16, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 12, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 17, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 17, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 18, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 18, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 20, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 22, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jul 26, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Aug 08, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Aug 08, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Aug 15, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Aug 25, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Sep 25, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Sep 26, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Sep 28, 2023
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 05, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 06, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 06, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 09, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 15, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Butler County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Jun 15, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Butler County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
Observation date: Sep 21, 2024
Submitted by: Jay Jeffrey
Region: Butler County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Oct 24, 2025
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