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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 337 - 360 of 8275 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 04, 2023
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Knox County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jun 05, 2023
Observation date: May 31, 2023
Submitted by: Ilse Gebhard
Region: Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jun 03, 2023
Observation date: May 30, 2023
Submitted by: ValerieLyn
Region: Macon County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jun 01, 2023
Observation date: May 20, 2023
Submitted by: LoriMT
Region: Dawson County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: May 22, 2023
Observation date: May 19, 2023
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: May 20, 2023
Observation date: Jul 28, 2019
Submitted by: Stu Adams
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: May 16, 2023
Observation date: Jul 26, 2022
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: La Plata County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Feb 19, 2023
Observation date: Jul 28, 2019
Submitted by: Stu Adams
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Feb 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 07, 2022
Submitted by: NikkiM
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jan 02, 2023
Observation date: Aug 24, 2022
Submitted by: hclancy
Region: Westchester County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Nov 30, 2022
Observation date: Sep 05, 2022
Submitted by: NikkiM
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Nov 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 13, 2022
Submitted by: BeaLaporte
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Nov 22, 2022
Observation date: Aug 19, 2022
Submitted by: Gtosher
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Nov 12, 2022
Observation date: Jul 06, 2021
Submitted by: Tiliaamericana10
Region: McHenry County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Oct 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 07, 2022
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: Polk County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 13, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2022
Submitted by: mariposero
Region: Humboldt County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 10, 2022
Observation date: Oct 09, 2022
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Knox County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Oct 10, 2022
Observation date: Oct 09, 2022
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Knox County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Oct 10, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: John Johnson
Region: Valley County, Idaho, United States
Verified by: stevekohler
Verified date: Oct 07, 2022
Observation date: Aug 11, 2022
Submitted by: ships333
Region: Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 03, 2022
Observation date: Sep 29, 2022
Submitted by: Chrysanthemum
Region: Pendleton County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 30, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: dlister
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 25, 2022
Observation date: Sep 20, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Sep 21, 2022
Observation date: Jun 27, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Boone County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Eric Wood
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
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