I was working on our garden at our new property and saw this butterfly.
This is the first Fritillary that I have seen. Maybe not the first one that I have seen in my life, but it is the first Fritillary that I have seen since I learned to identify some butterflies several years ago.
I was excited to see this one. It seemed like it was close to the end of it's life. It was very weak, which is why we were able to catch it and handle it.
Fritillary caterpillars eat mainly plants in the violet family, and passion vines. Other hosts include purslane, mayapple, and flax.
Fritillary's over winter as larvae. The butterfly egg hatches and the caterpillar hibernates even before eating sometimes.
In the spring they wake up about the time violets start growing.
Further reading about Variegated Fritillary:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you so much for your comments!