National Moth Week is July 18-26!
Moths are amazing creatures. Take photographs and share your moth sightings with us to document the moths where you live.
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 385 - 408 of 8309 verified sightings
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
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
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