Fritillary Butterflies

Fritillary Butterflies Great Spangled Fritillary Gulf Fritillary Hydaspe Fritillary Mormon Fritillary Pacific Fritillary Types of Butterflies

Fritillary butterflies are the dominant members of the Heliconiinae subfamily in the brush-footed butterfly family.

Heliconiinae are also known as longwings because of the extended wing length of some species, especially those with Heliconian in the name. However, side views of fritillaries do show longer top wings.

Fritillaries somtimes go by the name silverspots, a term that describes the pattern on the underside of the wing.

A handful of fritillary genera constitute the subfamily, with the majority of species belonging to either the Speyeria or Boloria genera. The Great Spangled, Hydaspe and Mormon fritillaries listed in the box belong to the Speyeria genus. The Pacific Fritillary belongs to the Boloria genus and the Gulf Fritillary stands as the one of a kind fritillary in the Agraulis genus.

Fritillary species vary in their ease of identification. Between genera differences are often easy to recognize. Within genus differences can cause identification difficulties in instances where common looking species share overlapping territory.

Accurately identifying any fritillary species requires a view of both the top and bottom wing pattern. Because most fritillaries spend time nectaring on flowers, patience around any species is often rewarded with a top and side view picture.

For identification purposes, top and side view pictures are presented for all five of the listed species.

© 2007-2008. Patricia A. Michaels