The silver-washed fritillary (''Argynnis paphia'') is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the

Palearctic realm The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Sib ...

– Algeria, Europe, temperate Asia, and Japan.

Description

The silver-washed fritillary butterfly is deep orange with black spots on the upperside of its wings, and has a wingspan of 54–70 mm, with the male being smaller and paler than the female. The underside is green, and, unlike other fritillaries, has silver streaks instead of silver spots, hence the name silver-washed. The caterpillar is black brown with two yellow lines along its back and long reddish-brown spines. The male possesses scent scales on the upperside of the forewing that run along veins one to four. The scent produced from these scales attracts females and helps to distinguish it from other species. Argynnis paphia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 PONT GERENDOINE Male Dorsal.jpg, Male Argynnis paphia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 PONT GERENDOINE Male Ventral.jpg, Male underside Argynnis paphia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Cabrerets 46 Female Dorsal.jpg, Female Argynnis paphia MHNT CUT 2013 3 24 Cabrerets 46 Female Ventral.jpg, Female underside

Food resources

Adults feed on the nectar of

bramble A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus ''Rubus'', which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. "Bramble" is also used to describe other prickly shrubs, such as roses (''Rosa'' species). The fruits inclu ...

thistle Thistle is the common name of a group of flowering plants characterised by leaves with sharp prickles on the margins, mostly in the family Asteraceae. Prickles can also occur all over the planton the stem and on the flat parts of the leaves ...

s, and

knapweed ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding re ...

s, and also on aphid honeydew. The silver-washed is a strong flier, and more mobile than other fritillaries, and, as such, can be seen gliding above the tree canopy at high speed. Its preferred habitat is thin, sunny,

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

woodland, especially oaks, but it has been known to live in coniferous woodland. The main larval food plant of the species is the 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 f ...

'').

Life cycle

Unusually for a butterfly, the female does not lay her eggs on the leaves or stem of the caterpillar's food source (in this case

violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...

s), but instead one or two meters above the woodland floor in the crevices of tree bark close to clumps of violets. When the egg hatches in August, the caterpillar immediately goes into hibernation until spring. Upon awakening, it will drop to the ground, and feeds on violets close to the base of the tree. The caterpillar usually feeds at night, and usually conceals itself during the day away from its food source, but during cool weather will bask in the sunny spots on the forest floor on dry, dead leaves. It will

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

te amongst the ground vegetation, and the adults will emerge in June.

Subspecies

*''Argynnis paphia butleri'' Krulikovsky, 1909 northern Europe, central Europe *''Argynnis paphia thalassata'' Fruhstorfer, 1909 southern Europe *''Argynnis paphia dives'' ( Oberthür, 1908) Algeria *''Argynnis paphia argyrorrhytes'' Seitz,

909 __NOTOC__ Year 909 ( CMIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Britain * King Edward the Elder and his sister, Princess Æthelflæd of Mercia, raid Danish ...

/small> North Caucasus *''Argynnis paphia delila'' Röber, 1896 Turkey *''Argynnis paphia masandarensis'' Gross & Ebert, 1975 Iran *''Argynnis paphia pusilla'' Wnukowsky, 1927 north-west Siberia *''Argynnis paphia neopaphia'' Fruhstorfer, 1907 Amur *''Argynnis paphia virescens'' Nakahara, 1926

Kuriles The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (; rus, Кури́льские острова́, r=Kuril'skiye ostrova, p=kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjə ɐstrɐˈva; Japanese: or ) are a volcanic archipelago currently administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the ...

*''Argynnis paphia geisha'' Hemming, 1934 Japan *''Argynnis paphia tsushimana'' Fruhstorfer, 1906 Japan *''Argynnis paphia megalegoria'' Fruhstorfer, 1907 Szechuan, Yunnan *''Argynnis paphia argyrophontes'' Oberthür, 1923 south-west China *''Argynnis paphia formosicola'' Matsumura

Conservation

The silver-washed fritillary was in decline in the UK for much of the 1970s and 1980s, but seems to be coming back to many of its old territories. Centaurea phrygia - Argynnis paphia female - Keila.jpg, Female Silver-washed fritillary butterfly (Argynnis paphia) male 3.jpg, Male Silver-washed fritillary butterfly (Argynnis paphia) male underside 2.jpg, Male underside Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) female underside 2.jpg, Female underside Image:Butterfly Silver-washed Fritillary - Argynnis paphia.jpg, Male Silver-washed fritillaries (Argynnis paphia) mating.jpg, Mating Silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia) female Valesina.jpg, Female, form ''valesina''

References

;Source * Tom Tolman and Richard Lewington, 2009 ''Collins Butterfly Guide:The Most Complete Field Guide to the Butterflies of Britain and Europe'' HarperCollins. . * Crory, Andrew. 2016. Fritillary Butterflies. ''The Irish Hare''. Ulster Wildlife Membership Magazine. Issue 113 p. 4 ;Notes * {{Taxonbar, from=Q503978 Argynnis Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Japan Butterflies described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus