The Aphrodite fritillary (''Speyeria aphrodite'') is a
fritillary
''Fritillaria'' (fritillaries) is a genus of spring flowering herbaceous bulbous perennial plants in the lily family (Liliaceae). The type species, ''Fritillaria meleagris'', was first described in Europe in 1571, while other species from the ...
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...
, from North America.
This orange coloured fritillary has rows of dark dots or chevrons at the wing edges and black or brown lines more proximally. The
ventral
Standard anatomical terms of location are used to unambiguously describe the anatomy of animals, including humans. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...
sides of the wings are also orange with several rows of white dots. Its wingspan is between 51 and 73 mm.
Aphrodite fritillaries are sensitive to temperature
with population trajectories showing declines in response to climate warming trends.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:
"''Speyeria'' Scudder, 1872"
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms''
*''S. a. alcestis'' (Edwards, 1876)
*''S. a. byblis'' (Barnes & Benjamin, 1926)
*''S. a. columbia'' (H. Edwards, 1877)
*''S. a. ethene'' (Hemming, 1933)
*''S. a. manitoba'' (F. & R. Chermock, 1940)
*''S. a. whitehousei'' (Gunder, 1932)
*''S. a. winni'' (Gunder, 1932)
Similar species
* Atlantis fritillary
''Speyeria atlantis'', the Atlantis fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae of North America. It is from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador to northern British Columbia, across the northern United States south as far a ...
(''Speyeria atlantis'')
* Great spangled fritillary
The great spangled fritillary (''Speyeria cybele'') is a North American butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Description
Its wingspan ranges from . It is characterized by its orange color above with five black dashes near forewing base and sev ...
(''Speyeria cybele'')
* Northwestern fritillary
''Speyeria hesperis'', the northwestern fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in the northwestern United States and western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the We ...
(''Speyeria hesperis'')
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Aphrodite Fritillary
Talk about Wildlife
Speyeria
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1787
Taxa named by Johan Christian Fabricius
{{Heliconiinae-stub