Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies... The Fritillaries
Fritillary Butterflies
Meadow Fritillary
Boloria bellona
This Meadow Fritillary was the only one seen and positively identified. There was another seen nearby earlier, but there was no way for me to determine whether there was one Meadow Fritillary moving around alot or two different butterflies.
This Meadow Fritillary was attracted to something in the soil, likely minerals deposited by another animal and was joined by other Fritillary, bees, and flies.
The Meadow Fritillary is around the same size as the Silver-boardered Fritillary and much smaller than the other Fritillaries flying around this day.
The Meadow Fritillary is marked similar to the Silver-boardered Fritillary when viewed from above, but lacks the well defined white border of the Silver-boardered Fritillary.
From below the Meadow Fritillary is very different from the Silver-Boardered Fritillary.
Picture taken July 15, 2008
The picture to the left is the best open wing shot from the day of the Meadow Fritillary. From above the Meadow Fritillary carries the same general orange and black patterns.
The Meadow Fritillary has a slight squaring at the end of the forewing, Which can help for identification purposes.
The picture to the left, and the picture below were taken July 15, 2008.
The picture below shows the size comparison between the Meadow Fritillary in flight and the Aphrodite Fritillary on the ground.
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 2 inches (3.5 - 5.1 cm).
Caterpillar hosts: Violets including northern white violet (Viola pallens) and woolly blue violet (V. sororia).
Females lay eggs on twigs and plants other than the host violets. Caterpillars feed on violet leaves and hibernate when in the third to fourth stage of development.
Habitat: Moist prairies, high mountain meadows, openings in barrens, brushland, dry fields, open oak woods, bogs.
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Nymphalidae | (Brushfooted Butterflies) |
| Subfamily | Heliconiinae | (Heliconians and Fritillaries) |
| Genus | Boloria | (Lesser Fritillaries) |
| Species | bellona | (Meadow Fritillary) |
Below is a location map where I have spotted Meadow Fritillaries on Crex Meadows. If the map is not showing, you do not have javascript enabled on your computer.