View in other NatureServe Network Field Guides
NatureServe
Montana
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
Wisconsin
British Columbia
South Carolina
Yukon
California
New York
Aphrodite Fritillary - Argynnis aphrodite
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981, Scott 1986, Glassberg 2001, Guppy and Shepard 2001] Forewing 2.6-3.7 cm. A large to mid-sized fritillary with variable markings; upper wing surfaces bright reddish brown with many black markings; ventral hindwing brown to reddish brown extending beyond the postmedian silver-white spots (spots lacking in some from Bears Paw Mountains); eyes dull yellow-green; presence of a dark spot along the inner trailing margin of dorsal forewing; males lack black swollen areas along dorsal forewing veins; ventral hindwing of both sexes between veins M3 and CuA1 with postmedian black spot always surrounded by a faint black circle or halo.
Phenology
One flight: adults fly from late June to mid-September (Scott 1986, Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Combination of dull yellow-green eyes; presence of a dark spot along the inner trailing margin of dorsal forewing; males lack of black swollen areas along dorsal forewing veins; ventral hindwing of both sexes between veins M3 and CuA1 with postmedian black spot always surrounded by a faint black circle or halo should help differentiate this species.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
From British Columbia east to Nova Scotia, south in the west to Arizona and New Mexico, south in the east along Appalachian Mountains to Georgia (Scott 1986, Guppy and Shepard 2001). Considered common (Glassberg 2001). Uncommon in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Debinski and Pritchard 2002).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 22
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Mostly non-migratory, but rare migrants occur in central Great Plains (Scott 1986).
Habitat
Lower elevation native prairie grassland, shrub-steppe, open woods, mesic montane and aspen parkland meadows (Scott 1986, Guppy and Shepard 2001). Mesic meadows in Glacier National Park (Debinski 1993).
Food Habits
Larval foodplants include several species of Viola. Adults feed on flower nectar (Scott 1986, Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females may lay eggs in late June through July, but usually in mid-August. Larvae hatch from eggs laid singly at base of the food plant or nearby (often under shrubs); first instar larvae (L1) overwinter; larvae do not produce nests, instead begin feeding the following spring once food plant has leafed out. Adult males patrol all day mostly in open areas in search of females (Scott 1986, Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Debinski, D. 1993. Butterflies of Glacier National Park, Montana. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. No. 159: 1-13.- Debinski, D.M. and J.A. Pritchard. 2002. A field guide to the butterflies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers. 107 p.
- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia: including western Alberta, southern Yukon, the Alaska Panhandle, Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana. UBC Press (Vancouver, BC) and Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria, BC). 414 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Debinski, D. M. 1991. Inventory and monitoring of biodiversity: an assessment of methods and a case study of Glacier National Park, MT. Ph.D. Dissertation. Montana State University, Bozeman. 205 p.
- Forister, M.L., C.A. Halsch, C.C. Nice, J.A. Fordyce, T.E. Dilts, J.C. Oliver, K.L. Prudic, A.M. Shapiro, J.K. Wilson, J. Glassberg. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-1045.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Aphrodite Fritillary"
- Additional Sources of Information Related to "Insects"
