''Boloria napaea'', the Napaea fritillary or mountain fritillary, is a

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 ...

of the 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 ...

Distribution

In Europe the species is found in the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

, mountainous areas in northern

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

and very local in the eastern parts of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. In North America it is found in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

, northwestern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, and in small populations in the Canadian part of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in great-circle distance, straight-line distance from the northernmost part of Western Can ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, and

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

. In

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

it is found in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

, the

Altai Mountains The Altai Mountains (), also spelled Altay Mountains, are a mountain range in Central Asia, Central and East Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan converge, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob River, Ob have their headwaters. The ...

, and the

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast () is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya rivers in the Russian Far East. The oblast borders Heilongjiang province of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the south. The administrati ...

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 35–48 mm. The upperside is orange with brown basal suffusion and sometimes even purplish gray in the female, decorated with brown designs, with small scallops and a line of submarginal round dots. The hindwing forms an angle at its anterior edge. On the forewing undersides the patterns are little marked, the apex is adorned pearly spots, and the hindwing undersides are clear because they are adorned with pearlescent designs. The butterfly flies from June to August depending on the location. In Europa the larvae feed on ''

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

'' species, especially '' V. biflora'' and also '' Polygonum viviparum''. In North America it also feeds on '' Polygonum bistortoides''.

''Boloria napaea napaea''

Boloria napaea MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Étang de Laurenti Dorsal.jpg, ♂ Boloria napaea MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Étang de Laurenti Ventral.jpg, ♂ △ (MHNT) Boloria napaea - Dondenaz (Valle d'Aosta) - female dorsal.jpg, ♀ (MHNT) Boloria napaea - Dondenaz (Valle d'Aosta) - female ventral.jpg, ♀ △

Subspecies

*''B. n. altaica'' (Grum-Grshimailo, 1893) Tarbagatai, Sayan, Altai, South Transbaikalia, Mongolia *''B. n. pustagi'' Korshunov & Ivonin, 1995 Northeast Altai *''B. n. vinokurovi'' Dubatolov, 1992 East Yakutia *''B. n. contaminata'' Gorbunov, 2007

External links

Butterflies of EuropeButterflies of Canada
''altaica'' Boloria Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of North America Taxa named by Johann Centurius Hoffmannsegg Butterflies described in 1804 Lepidoptera of Canada Lepidoptera of the United States {{Heliconiinae-stub