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.
Get your BAMONA Gear!
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 73 - 96 of 8077 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 03, 2023
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 11, 2023
Observation date: Aug 10, 2023
Submitted by: Sherry in Kansas
Region: Douglas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 11, 2023
Observation date: Jul 30, 2023
Submitted by: choover14
Region: Geauga County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2023
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 06, 2023
Observation date: Aug 04, 2023
Submitted by: MarkSCitsay
Region: Washington County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 05, 2023
Observation date: Aug 02, 2023
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 04, 2023
Observation date: Jul 30, 2023
Submitted by: Wendelin
Region: Missoula County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 03, 2023
Observation date: Aug 02, 2023
Submitted by: Thom Garrett
Region: Missoula County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 03, 2023
Observation date: Jul 30, 2023
Submitted by: Slick58
Region: Lewis County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 02, 2023
Observation date: Aug 01, 2023
Submitted by: Arabella S Dane
Region: Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 02, 2023
Observation date: Aug 01, 2023
Submitted by: ELFredrickson
Region: Madison County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 01, 2023
Observation date: Jul 07, 2023
Submitted by: djhatch88
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 29, 2023
Observation date: Jul 28, 2023
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 28, 2023
Observation date: Jul 14, 2023
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 28, 2023
Observation date: Jul 28, 2023
Submitted by: KCorcoran
Region: Lewis County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 28, 2023
Observation date: Jul 26, 2023
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 27, 2023
Observation date: Jul 23, 2023
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Portage County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Jul 27, 2023
Observation date: Jul 26, 2023
Submitted by: RLS
Region: Monroe County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 27, 2023
Observation date: Jul 13, 2023
Submitted by: Mastomy
Region: Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jul 23, 2023
Observation date: Jul 14, 2023
Submitted by: Smccarthy
Region: Quebec, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 13, 2023
Submitted by: scsmith1957
Region: DeKalb County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Jul 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 10, 2023
Submitted by: Dobber31
Region: Benton County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jul 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 17, 2023
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Putnam County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 18, 2023
Observation date: Jul 17, 2023
Submitted by: John Terpstra
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 18, 2023
- ‹ previous
- 4 of 337
- next ›