Gulf fritillary butterfly

Description:

It is a medium sized longwing butterfly that has black and orange patterns. The butterfly has orange and black with a couple silver spots on the ventral while the backside has orange and brown with many silver spots. This specimen seems to have been deformed with the left forewing not inflating properly. This happens when the butterfly is disturbed in the chrysalis and does not use all of it's meconium, that is a smelly liquid that caterpillars produce from the plant matter it consumes.

Habitat:

Semi-urban, Fort Worth, Texas.

Notes:

It seems to be a Female but not totally sure because these specimens were almost dwarfs because of the competition of food. Gulf fritillaries are found primarily in the southern parts of the U.S., such as many regions of Texas and Florida. However, this butterfly’s range can extend from the southern U.S. into parts of Mexico and Central America and sometimes as far as parts of South America. They are also found in Hawaii.