Make a permanent year-round habitat in your yard for great spangled fritillary butterflies

A large, orange-ish colored butterfly began staying around our garden a few days ago. At first glance, I thought it was a monarch since a few of them have been around for the past week or so. Looking again, I saw it didn’t have the distinctive wing pattern of a monarch. Instead, it turned out to be a great spangled fritillary butterfly.

We’ve seen these around here in past years so we know they have established themselves on our property.

Great spangled fritillary butterflies get their common name from the shiny, metallic-looking spots (spangles) on the underside of their back wings. Their scientific name, Speyeria cybele, was given to them in the 1800s by German entomologist Adolph Speyer, hence the genus name. The species name cybele, is derived from Cybele the ancient Greek goddess of caves. Cybele was often referred to as “earth mother”.

While fritillaries can be found across much of the United States and the southern Canada, you don’t see them everywhere. They need a special diet and habitat in order to reproduce.

Just as milkweed plants are required for monarch caterpillars, wild violets are the essential element to fritillaries’ reproductive cycle.

The female butterfly lays her eggs near wild violet plants in late summer. After about two to three weeks of incubation the eggs hatch. Instead of feeding, the tiny, brand new caterpillars go dormant pretty much immediately and stay dormant all through winter. Then, in the spring just as the wild violets begin to grow, they wake up and begin feeding.

Picture how small a butterfly egg is, then you can get some idea how small a newly hatched caterpillar would be. The baby caterpillars don’t just lay there out in the open during dormancy, they need cover such as weeds, leaves, twigs and other plant debris to provide them shelter for all those months. Since they only feed at night, that same cover is needed in the spring for them to hide under during the day for the rest of their life spent as a caterpillar.

Once the caterpillars reach full size in June, they will build a chrysalis suspended from a low branch or other object near the ground. During July they emerge as butterflies.

Adult butterflies feed on nectar and are not particularly picky eaters. They enjoy nectar from just about any wild or cultivated flower.

Fritillary habitat can be damaged when people apply weed killer to their lawns and garden beds to kill broad-leaf weeds which happens to include violets. I’ve had more than one person complain to me how much they hate to see violets in their yard.

Those who keep an extra tidy yard often will pick up all plant debris thus accidentally removing any butterfly caterpillars that may be present.

If you would like great spangled fritillaries to become a permanent part of your neighborhood, you must keep in mind how important it is to leave places for wild plants to grow and not take away all the leaves and twigs from your yard or garden. Consider leaving a wild spot along your back fence not only for fritillaries but other species as well.

Think of the wild messiness as a way to grow beautiful butterflies that add moving color to your garden.