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.
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 409 - 432 of 8275 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 27, 2022
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 17, 2022
Submitted by: Varn
Region: Johnson County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 07, 2022
Submitted by: rocksnstars
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 13, 2022
Submitted by: agrub
Region: Hancock County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 26, 2022
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 26, 2022
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 2022
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Pope County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 19, 2022
Submitted by: kjaldridge
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 13, 2022
Submitted by: Boreas
Region: Essex County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 24, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2022
Submitted by: Littlewing
Region: Crawford County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jul 24, 2022
Observation date: Jul 22, 2022
Submitted by: kallikat11
Region: St. Lawrence County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 23, 2022
Observation date: Jul 23, 2022
Submitted by: Allison Barta
Region: Cass County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 23, 2022
Observation date: Jul 21, 2002
Submitted by: David Allen Jones
Region: Sawyer County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 22, 2022
Observation date: Jul 21, 2022
Submitted by: RStankiewicz
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 21, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 21, 2022
Observation date: Jun 18, 2022
Submitted by: mbroen
Region: St. Croix County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 20, 2022
Submitted by: rapids
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 16, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jun 22, 2022
Submitted by: aarongunnar
Region: Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 14, 2022
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 14, 2022
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 15, 2022
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 16, 2022
Observation date: Jun 29, 2019
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 14, 2022
Observation date: Jul 07, 2022
Submitted by: pkondrashov
Region: Knox County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jul 11, 2022
- ‹ previous
- 18 of 345
- next ›