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 361 - 384 of 8275 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 15, 2022
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2022
Submitted by: Don Marotte
Region: Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jun 22, 2019
Submitted by: Liz Osborn
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 04, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Christensen
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Jul 07, 2019
Submitted by: Claire Christensen
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2019
Submitted by: bobscafe
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 18, 2022
Submitted by: Gtosher
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 07, 2022
Observation date: Jun 21, 2021
Submitted by: Kathy Kues
Region: St. Charles County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 06, 2022
Observation date: Sep 02, 2022
Submitted by: pkondrashov
Region: Macon County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 06, 2022
Observation date: Sep 04, 2022
Submitted by: maryjanzen
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 06, 2022
Observation date: Sep 05, 2022
Submitted by: DJ Jones
Region: Manistee County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: elsner
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
Observation date: Aug 16, 2022
Submitted by: Jon Kindschy
Region: Gunnison County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Jun 11, 2021
Submitted by: Waystation33427
Region: Lapeer County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 03, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: rocksnstars
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 31, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2022
Submitted by: Jay Brasher
Region: Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 29, 2022
Observation date: Aug 27, 2022
Submitted by: B Holgersson
Region: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 25, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 27, 2022
Observation date: Aug 26, 2022
Submitted by: Mills9
Region: Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 26, 2022
Observation date: Aug 26, 2022
Submitted by: Terry Robinson
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 26, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 2022
Submitted by: aarongunnar
Region: Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
Observation date: Aug 24, 2022
Submitted by: norahfox
Region: Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 07, 2019
Submitted by: Jennie Lanzendorf
Region: Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 31, 2022
Submitted by: Helen4027747
Region: Cecil County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
Observation date: Aug 22, 2022
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 23, 2022
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