View in other NatureServe Network Field Guides
NatureServe
Montana
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
Wisconsin
British Columbia
South Carolina
Yukon
California
New York
Relict Fritillary - Boloria kriemhild
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001] Forewing 1.8-2.4 cm. Forewing apexes rounded. Uppersurface bright orange-brown with narrow black markings, submarginal chevrons on hindwing nearly continuous, band-like, and point outward; undersurface yellow-orange, hindwing reddish basally, a small post-basal spot, a uniformly yellow median band, postmedian band with a row of irregular yellow spots outlined in brown, submarginal reddish chevrons pointing outward.
Phenology
One flight; mid-June to early August (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999), July to early August (Ferris and Brown 1981; Glassberg 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by a combination of uppersurface of wings with submarginal chevrons on hindwing nearly continuous, band like, and point outward; undersurface of hindwing postmedian band with a row of irregular yellow spots outlined in brown, submarginal reddish chevrons pointing outward.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Southwestern Montana south through western Wyoming and eastern Idaho to northeastern Utah (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); to at least 2940 m elevation in Wyoming (Nabokov 1953). In Montana, reported from nine counties in the southwestern 1/6 of the state (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993). Locally rare to locally uncommon (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 6
(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
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Lush conifer forest meadows, montane and alpine willow bogs (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001). In Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, most abundant in montane wet meadows, willow bogs (Nabokov 1953; Debinski et al. 2013).
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Wetland and Riparian
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Riparian Shrubland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Limited information. Larval food plants include species of Viola (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986). Adults presumably feed on flower nectar, as do other Boloria, but no details available.
Reproductive Characteristics
Limited information. Overwinters (hibernates) as L4 instar (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1979, 1986). Males patrol low to the ground (about 33 cm) throughout the day in montane wet meadows and boggy areas, sometimes where aspen is common, in search of females (Scott 1975b, 1982, 1986).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
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.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Nabokov, V. 1953. Butterfly collecting in Wyoming, 1952. The Lepidopterists' News 7(2): 49-52.
- Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
- Scott, J.A. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
- Scott, J.A. 1982. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. II. New observations and morphological adaptations. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 21(3): 177-187.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- 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.
- 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.
- Caruthers, J.C., and D. Debinski. 2006. Montane meadow butterfly species distributions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report, 2006. Vol. 30, Art. 14. 85-96.
- Debinski, D.M., J.C. Caruthers, D. Cook, J. Crowley, and H. Wickham. 2013. Gradient-based habitat affinities predict species vulnerability to drought. Ecology 94(5): 1036-1045.
- 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
- Opler, P.A., K. Lotts, and T. Naberhaus, coordinators. 2010. Butterflies and moths of North America. Big Sky Institute, Bozeman, MT. Available at: www.butterfliesandmoths.org (Accessed 15 June 2015).
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Relict Fritillary"
- Additional Sources of Information Related to "Insects"
