The dark green fritillary (''Speyeria aglaja'') is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species ha ...

. The insect has a wide range in the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The ...

- Europe, Morocco, Iran, Siberia, Central Asia, China, Korea, and Japan.

Taxonomy

The dark green fritillary was first formally described as ''Papilio aglaja'' in the 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae'' published in 1758 with its type locality given as Sweden. This species is now classified in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Speyeria ''Speyeria'', commonly known as greater fritillaries, is a genus of butterflies in the family Nymphalidae commonly found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Some authors used to consider this taxon a subgenus of '' Argynnis'', but it has been re ...

'' which is classified within the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Heliconiinae The Heliconiinae, commonly called heliconians or longwings, are a subfamily of the brush-footed butterflies (family (biology), family Nymphalidae). They can be divided into 45–50 genera and were sometimes treated as a separate family Heliconi ...

of the brush-footed butterfly family,

Subspecies

*''S. a. aglaja'' Southern Europe, Central Europe, Caucasus, Altai, Sayan, West Siberia, South Siberia *''S. a. borealis'' (

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

, 1901) Europe, Siberia,

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

, Kamchatka *''S. a. lyauteyi'' ( Oberthür, 1920) Morocco (Middle Atlas) *''S. a. excelsior'' (

Rothschild Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "to the red shield", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by signs ...

, 1933) Morocco (Rif Mountains) *''S. a. ottomana'' (

Röber Röber or Roeber is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Ernest Roeber (1861–1944), German-American professional wrestler *Mark Rober (born 1980), American YouTuber, engineer and inventor *Julius Röber, German entomologist ...

, 1896) Armenia, Talys, Kopet Dagh *''S. a. gigasvitatha'' ( Verity, 1935) Tian-Shan, Ghissar, Darvaz, Alai, South Altai *''S. a. vitatha'' (

Moore Moore may refer to: Language * Mooré language, spoken in West Africa People * Moore (surname) ** List of people with surname Moore * Moore Crosthwaite (1907–1989), a British diplomat and ambassador * Moore Disney (1765–1846), a senior ...

, 1874) Pamirs *''S. a. clavimacula'' ( Matsumura, 1929) South Ussuri *''S. a. kenteana'' ( Stichel, 1901) Transbaikalia, North Ussuri, Amur *''S. a. tonnai'' ( Matsumura, 1928) Sakhalin *''S. a. bessa'' ( Fruhstorfer, 1907) ? Speyeria aglaja MHNT CUT 2013 3 25 Auzat Dorsal.jpg, Speyeria aglaja MHNT CUT 2013 3 25 Auzat Ventral.jpg, Underside Argynnis aglaja underside.jpg, Underside Speyeria aglaja (Dark green fritillary) male.jpg, Male Speyeria aglaja (Dark green fritillary) female underside M.jpg, Female underside Speyeria aglaja male and female.jpg, Male and female Stamp of Kyrgyzstan 219.jpg, Kyrgyzstan postage stamp The larvæ of the British butterflies and moths BHL41107813.jpg, Figs.2,2a,2b, 2c, 2d, 2e larva after last moult 2f pupa

Description in Seitz

The large fritillary is fiery reddish yellow above, the basal area of the male being always duller. The markings are constant: a black margin, a row of deep black but thin marginal arcs, a very straight, central row of dots, of which only the last one of the forewing is shifted distad; between this row of dots and the base there are six thin black transverse bands extending from the subcostal vein into the wing. The underside of the hindwing is characteristic; it bears numerous silver-spots on a partly verdigris partly leather-yellow ground, but never a row of ocelli in the marginal area, as is the case in the forms of the Niobe fritillary (''Fabriciana niobe'') and

high brown fritillary ''Fabriciana adippe'', the high brown fritillary, is a large and brightly colored butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, native to Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan. It is known for being Great Britain's most threatened butterfly and is li ...

(''F. adippe''). Seitz. A. in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Biology

Dark green fritillaries lay ther eggs in the high summer in Great Britain, either on or in the vicinity of species of ''

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

''. When the caterpillar hatches it eats its eggshell and immediately begins to hibernate. In the following Spring the caterpillars emerge from hibernation and feed on violets, typically common dog-violet (''

Viola riviniana ''Viola riviniana'', the common dog-violet, is a species of flowering plant in the family Violaceae, native to Eurasia and Africa. It is also called wood violet and dog violet. It inhabits woodland edges, grassland and shady hedge banks. It is ...

'') but also the marsh dog violet ('' V. palustris'') and the heath dog violet ('' V. canina''), and complete their life cycle, pupating in May, with the butterflies emerging a few weeks later. The will nectar on common knapweed (''

Centaurea nigra ''Centaurea nigra'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and is also known as lesser knapweed, common knapweed, black knapweed and bell weed. It is native to central Europe, and has been introduced to temperate North America ...

''), marsh thistle (''

Cirsium palustre ''Cirsium palustre'', the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial (or often perennial) flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. Description ''Cirsium palustre'' is a tall thistle which reaches up to in height. The ...

''), devil's-bit scabious (''

Succisa pratensis ''Succisa pratensis'', also known as devil's-bit or devil's-bit scabious, is a flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. It differs from other similar species in that it has four-lobed flowers, whereas '' Scabiosa columbaria'' ( ...

'') and field scabious (''

Knautia arvensis ''Knautia arvensis'', commonly known as field scabious, is a herbaceous perennial species of flowering plant in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae. Description It is a perennial plant that grows between . It prefers grassy places and dry ...

'').

References

*Emmet, A.M., J. Heath ''et al.'' (Ed.), 1990. The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. ''The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland'' Vol. 7 Part 1 (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae). Harley Books, Colchester, UK. 370p. *Tomlinson, D. and R. Still, 2002. ''Britain's Butterflies''. WildGuides, Old Basing, UK. 192p.
Bracken for Butterflies
Leaflet by

Butterfly Conservation Butterfly Conservation (BC) is a UK-wide nonprofit environmentalist organization and charity dedicated to conserving butterflies, moths, and the environment. The charity uses its research to provide advice on how to conserve and restore butterf ...

*Crory, Andrew. 2016. Fritillary Butterflies. ''The Irish Hare''. Ulster Wildlife Membership Magazine. Issue 113 p. 4 {{Taxonbar, from=Q67687694, from2=Q851495 Speyeria Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Japan Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus