A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Speyeria cybele
Wingspan 3 - 3 3/4 inches (75 - 95 mm). Wings above orange-brown with many black spots. Fore wings below paler with brownish-black markings and a few silvery-yellow spots.
Open, moist places including fields, valleys, pastures, right-of-ways, meadows, open woodland, prairies.
The Great spangled Fritillary flies quickly but pauses to take nectar from a variety of blossoms including Black-Eyed Susan, Thistles, and others. Females mate in June or July and then proceed to hide, on bark, or under foliage till late August to September, to lay their eggs on the leaves of the viola. Males, which emerged earlier, in May to June, live only to mate and by this time are almost nonexistent.
6 Comments
Thanks everyone!! Dan - yeah it is. This series was one of the first I captured with the new camera.
Nice Neil! That new camera is working good!
lovely!
very nice Neil!
Thanks Carol! Expect to see some more arthropod spottings from me!
Gorgeous!