Fritillaries

One of Britain's rarest butterflies, this little species is exquisitely beautiful up-close, especially  the underside, which resembles a piece of stained glass.

The Heath Fritillary is one of only two British members of the diverse genus Melitaea, and has a very restricted distrbution in southern England.  It is a common and widespread butterfly in continental Europe.  In Britain, it is entirely dependent on its foodplant, Common Cow-wheat.

The Heath Fritillary is very easy to identify (in Britain) where its upperwings have a chequerboard pattern with no black spots.

Perhaps Britain's most beautiful fritillary, the Marsh Fritillary is a patchwork of orange and yellow divided by bold, black lines. It is a specially-protected species across Europe.

This is a butterfly of the wetter western half of Britain, although it is not especially associated with marshes - it favours damp grassland. It is easily seen on chalk downland in Dorset and Wiltshire, where its foodplant, Devil's-bit Scabious grows in permanently moist areas.




 

This attractive species used to be a familiar sight in woodland glades in early summer, but has suffered major declines due to changes in woodland management.  Here in Derbyshire, it has been extinct since the 1980s.

As the common name suggests, this is a slightly smaller butterfly than the Pearl-bordered Fritillary (see below), but the two species are very similar and need a good view to be confidently separated.  B. selene has black edges to the white 'pearls' on the underside of the hindwings, rather than red and a second row of pearls in the centre of the underside, which gives a much brighter overall appearance.

Much less common than the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, this species occupies similar habitats, but has suffered the same declines as its cousin, especially over the last 40 years.  Apart from the Surrey and Sussex area, it is all but extinct in central and eastern England now, although it remains well distributed in Scotland and the south-west.

The Pearl-bordered Fritillary is very similar to B.selene, but has ewer silver spots on the underside and more extensive orange patches.  Also, the row of pearls on the edge of the hindwing undersides are bordered with brown, rather than black.  It has an earlier flight period than its cousin.


 

This close cousin of the Dark Green Fritillary (see below) is Britain's most-threatened fritillary, although recent conservation efforts have improved its long-term survival prospects.  It is restricted to scattered sites on the moors of Devon, Wales and limestone grassland in the Morecambe Bay area of Cumbria (as shown here).

The High Brown Fritillary is named for the arc of brown spots on the underside of hindwings.  It has a similar pattern of silver spots to the Dark Green Fritillary and the upperwing patterns are very similar and cannot be used to reliably separate the two species.  At Arnside Knott, both species fly at the same time, so a good view of the butterfly at rest is essential.

Britain's most widespread fritillary, the beautiful insect is a species of open, flowery meadows, appearing in late June and July.  Here in Derbyshire, it is common in many of the limestone dales of the Peak District.

The Dark Green Fritillary is named for the green suffusion on the underside of the hindwings.  It's hardly dark green, but is unique to this species (see third photo).  The underside also has a scattering of bright silvery spots.

The only similar species in Britain is the High Brown Fritillary, but confusion is only possible where the two species coexist.  Given the rarity of A.adippe, most people in Britain can ignore this conflict!  In mainland Europe, however, where both species are common, confusion can be an everyday occurrence!










 

Britain's largest and most impressive fritillary, this majestic butterfly is a species of broadleaved woodland.  It is still a species of the south-west but is steadily expanding its range northwards and can now be seen on the southern edge of my home county, Derbyshire.  The best places to see it are along rides in ancient woodland, where the butterflies glide around sunny clearings, looking or their favourite nectar source - bramble flowers.

The common name of this species derives from the silvery streaks on the undersides of the hindwings.