(Rottemburg, 1775)
Marsh Fritillary
Description:
The Marsh Fritillary occurs in very different types of habitat, like moist, sheltered grasslands, along the edges of raised bogs and on dry, calcareous grasslands. The food plants are Devil's-bit Scabious (Succisa pratense), Small Scabious (Scabiosa columbaria), Field Scabious (Knautia arvensis), and teasels (Dipsacus spp.).
The eggs are laid in large clumps under the leaves. The caterpillars spin a substantial nest between the leaves of the food plants, feeding in it, and also hibernating communally there. However, later they are solitary, and look for places deep in the vegetation in which to pupate.
The Marsh Fritillary has one brood a year.
This is a very variable species with many subspecies. In Spain and Portugal E.a. beckeri is larger and brighter than most subspecies, with bold, black markings. E.a. debilis is found above 1800 m in the Alps and Pyrenees, and is smaller, with a lot of black markings and hardly any orange. E. a. provincialis occurs in the south of France, and is pale orange. E. a. hibernica occurs in Ireland, and is very distinctive with prominent red and heavy black markings.
Habitat:
Mesophile grasslands
Humid grasslands
Similar species:
Euphydryas desfontainii