''Boloria bellona'', the meadow fritillary, is a North American

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the brushfoot family,

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

. The common name, meadow fritillary, is also used for a European butterfly species, '' Melitaea parthenoides''.

Description

The upperside of the wings is yellow orange with dark spots, lines, and zigzagged bands. The forewing is squared off just below the apex. A dark border on the hindwing margin is lacking on most individuals. It has long palps. The underside of the wings is mottled with orange and purplish-brown. There is a yellowish band across the center of the hindwing. It lacks the silver spots most lesser fritillaries have. The forewing is smudged with orange and brown near the apex. The wingspan of the meadow fritillary is 3.5 - 5.1 cm ( - 2 inches).

Similar species

Similar species in the meadow fritillary's range include the silver-bordered fritillary ('' Boloria selene''), the bog fritillary ('' Boloria eunomia'') and the purplish fritillary ('' Boloria chariclea''). The silver-bordered fritillary has rounder wings than the meadow fritillary, a dark hindwing margin border and silver spots on the underside of the hindwing. The bog fritillary is a bit smaller than the meadow fritillary, its wing bases are hairy and on the underside of the hindwing are a series of bands and patches that are rust red, yellow, and white. The purplish fritillary is also a bit smaller than the meadow fritillary and the underside of the hindwings is a deep, rusty red.

Habitat

The meadow fritillary is frequently encountered in wet, open places, including pastures, fields and streamsides.

Life cycle

The female is the active flight partner. Females deposit greenish-yellow

eggs An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo begins to develop. Egg, EGG or eggs may also refer to: Biology * Egg cell, the female reproductive cell (gamete) in oogamous organisms Food * Eggs as food Places * Egg, Austria * Egg, Switzerland ...

near the

host plant In biology and medicine, a host is a larger organism that harbours a smaller organism; whether a parasitic, a mutualistic, or a commensalist ''guest'' (symbiont). The guest is typically provided with nourishment and shelter. Examples include a ...

on twigs or leaves. Mature

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

e are gray and black with small, light-colored spines. The

chrysalis A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages the ...

is yellow-brown. The meadow fritillary

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...

s as a larva. It has one or two

broods Broods are a musical duo from Nelson, New Zealand, composed of Georgia Josiena Nott on lead vocals, with older brother and multi-instrumentalist Caleb Allan Joseph Nott on production and backing vocals. They released the single "Bridges (Broo ...

per year.

Host plants

Host plants used by the meadow fritillary: * Northern white violet, '' Viola pallens'' * Common blue violet, ''

Viola sororia ''Viola sororia'' ( ), known commonly as the common blue violet, is a short-stemmed herbaceous Perennial plant, perennial plant native to eastern North America. It is known by a number of common names, including common meadow violet, purple viole ...

Image gallery

File:Meadow Fritillary, Megan McCarty49.jpg, Upperside File:Meadow Fritillary, Megan McCarty50.jpg, Underside File:Boloria.selene.2.jpg, Underside of silver-bordered fritillary for comparison File:Boloria.eunomia.2.jpg, Underside of the bog fritillary for comparison

References

* Brock, Jim P. and Kenn Kaufman. (2003). ''Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, New York. * Shull, Ernest M. (1987) ''The Butterflies of Indiana''. by Indiana Academy of Science. * Cech, Rick and Guy Tudor (2005). ''Butterflies of the East Coast''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. * Wagner, David L. (2005). ''Caterpillars of Eastern North America''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America - ''Boloria bellona''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boloria Bellona Butterflies of North America Boloria Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius Lepidoptera of Canada Lepidoptera of the United States