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Freija Fritillary - Boloria freija
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001; Pyle 2002] Forewing 1.7-2.0 cm. Upper wing surfaces orange-brown with black markings and a black border chain; darker at wing bases. Underside of hindwing with off-white patch near base of costal margin, a central white triangular spot in the median row on the under hindwing (the spot tip almost touching the postmedian white band), a series of horizontal white marginal bars (sometimes arrowhead-shaped).
Phenology
One flight; late May to early July in Colorado, mid-May to mid-June in Alberta and Saskatchewan, June to mid-July in the Arctic (mid-June to mid-August in Labrador) (Scott 1986). Late April to late August in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001; Pyle 2002).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Distinguished by the central white triangular spot in the median row on the under hindwing (the spot tip almost touching the postmedian white band), and the series of horizontal white marginal bars (sometimes arrowhead-shaped).
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Holarctic. In North America, throughout boreal and arctic Alaska, Canada, and adjacent regions of the US in the Great Lakes region, south in the Cascades to extreme northcentral Washington and in the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico (Scott 1986; Glasberg 2001; Pyle 2002). Reported between 2590-3660 m elevation in Colorado (Brown 1957). In Montana, reported from the high mountains in the southwestern quarter of Montana (Beaverhead, Carbon, Gallatin, Madison, Sweetwater counties) and in Glacier County in northwestern Montana (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database; MNHP), between 2393-2883 m elevation. Locally common (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 1
(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
Moist edges of willow bogs and streams, montane meadows, forest openings, above or beyond treeline in moist alpine or arctic terrain (Scott 1986, 1992; Pyle 2002). Subalpine willow bogs in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Debinski and Pritchard 2002).
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Alpine
Alpine - Vegetated
Forest and Woodland
Montane - Subalpine Forest and Woodland
Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Grassland
Wetland and Riparian
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Riparian and Wetland Forest
Riparian Shrubland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Larval food plants include Arctostaphylos, Dryas, Empetrum, Rhododendron, Polygonum, Potentilla, Rubus, Sieversia, various Vaccinium, and Viola (Scott 1986, 1992; Pyle 2002; James and Nunnallee 2011). Adults feed on flower nectar (Arnica, Caltha, Draba, Oreoxis, Pulsatilla, Salix) as well as mud (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly or in small clusters low on green leaves on or near host plant. Eggs hatch in about 6 days (depending on temperature) and can reach L2 instar in another 4 days. L2 and L3 instars occupy another 8 days each. Larvae are solitary and build no nests; most feeding is nocturnal, larvae rest exposed when not feeding. Larvae overwinter (diapause) as mature L4 instars. Upon exit from diapause L4 instars molt to L5, then pupate in another 1-3 days. Adults eclose (exit pupae) in about 10-12 days, depending on temperature (Scott 1992; Pyle 2002; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males patrol throughout the day near host plants, at the edges of bogs or streams and often on hillsides, to encounter females (Scott 1975b, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.- 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.
- James, D.G. and D. Nunnallee. 2011. Life histories of Cascadia butterflies. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. 447 p.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Pyle, R.M. 2002. The butterflies of Cascadia: a field guide to all the species of Washington, Oregon, and surrounding territories. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 420 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. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
- Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
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