Fritillary on thistle
Speyeria sp.
Greater fritillary · Upstate New York · 15 August 2025
A greater fritillary on a thistle in an Upstate New York meadow in August, one of the largest butterflies likely to turn up in a Northeastern meadow. The greater fritillaries are butterflies of meadows and open woodland across the north, and the caterpillars feed only on violets.
Orange and black-checkered above, and several similar species overlap here; a confident call really needs the silver-spangled underwing, which this angle doesn't show. The caterpillars hatch in autumn and spend the winter as a tiny larva, waiting for the violet leaves.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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