Nymphalidae : Heliconiinae
Silver-washed Fritillary
ARGYNNIS (Argynnis) paphia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Silver-washed Fritillary
ARGYNNIS (Argynnis) paphia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: Male : 55-64mm : Female : 58-66mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe-except some southern and northern areas : Algeria Temperate Asia : Japan
UK Distrbution: Widespread across Southern England and Wales : Local in Northern England and Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: UK-Middle June-End August : Middle of its range-Late June-August : Southern range-Late May-September or October : Univoltine across the range.
Habitat: Broad leaved Woodland-especially Oak woodland with rides and open glades scattered with Bramble: SW England-Broad leaved and conifer plantations : Wooded hedgerows.
Ovum: When laying, the female climbs the mature Oak tree with her wings closed, searching and probing out crevices in the bark in which to deposit her greeenish-white ova.They are usually deposited between 1-2m up the trunk of the tree although she can climb up to 6m to deposit the eggs.Although she normally chooses mature Oaks she will also deposit ova on Beech and Larch and even Bracken. At one site last year I also watched a female deposit eggs on the rotting stump of a tree which was barely 300mm off the ground.
It should be noted that early in the Silver-washed Fritillary season that virtually all the butterflies encountered are liable to be males with the females usually appearing when its time to deposit ova.
Larva: The eggs hatch after about two weeks whereby the young caterpillar produces a silk pad on which to hibernate on the tree trunk.
The following spring they descend to the ground and go in search of violets. During the day the caterpillar basks in the sunshine on dead leaves.
By early June the larva is fully grown and goes in search of a pupation site.
Pupa: The chrysalis is barely found in the wild as it suspends itself by the cremaster of twigs or leaves a few metres off the ground.
Overwinters as: Non feeding early stage larva
Observations: There is no better sight in the forest in high summer that the fast flying Silver-washed Fritillary with its swooping flight, ably accompanied by the gliding White Admiral or the odd glimpse of the masterful Purple Emperor.
The male is distinguished from the female with its four black streaks on the upper side forewing which contain pheromones used in courtship.
The butterfly is named from the silver streaks on the underside hindwing which are clearly visible as they feed on their favourite nectar source Bramble. (See streaks in photo 5) The butterfly frequents the sunnier parts of the forest but breeds in the shadier parts.
Most years in Southern England a few of the bronze-green females, form valezina are recorded although I have yet to obtain a decent photo.
A familiar site along forest rides is the mating ritual of the Silver-washed Fritillary as the two fly close to one another where the male first loops under in front of the female and then back over the back of the female in a circular motion,something that is always eye catching to the butterfly observer.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe-except some southern and northern areas : Algeria Temperate Asia : Japan
UK Distrbution: Widespread across Southern England and Wales : Local in Northern England and Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
- Least Concern - Red List
- Least Concern
- Papilio paphia (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio paphia (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sweden
Flight Period: UK-Middle June-End August : Middle of its range-Late June-August : Southern range-Late May-September or October : Univoltine across the range.
Habitat: Broad leaved Woodland-especially Oak woodland with rides and open glades scattered with Bramble: SW England-Broad leaved and conifer plantations : Wooded hedgerows.
Ovum: When laying, the female climbs the mature Oak tree with her wings closed, searching and probing out crevices in the bark in which to deposit her greeenish-white ova.They are usually deposited between 1-2m up the trunk of the tree although she can climb up to 6m to deposit the eggs.Although she normally chooses mature Oaks she will also deposit ova on Beech and Larch and even Bracken. At one site last year I also watched a female deposit eggs on the rotting stump of a tree which was barely 300mm off the ground.
It should be noted that early in the Silver-washed Fritillary season that virtually all the butterflies encountered are liable to be males with the females usually appearing when its time to deposit ova.
Larva: The eggs hatch after about two weeks whereby the young caterpillar produces a silk pad on which to hibernate on the tree trunk.
The following spring they descend to the ground and go in search of violets. During the day the caterpillar basks in the sunshine on dead leaves.
By early June the larva is fully grown and goes in search of a pupation site.
Pupa: The chrysalis is barely found in the wild as it suspends itself by the cremaster of twigs or leaves a few metres off the ground.
Overwinters as: Non feeding early stage larva
Observations: There is no better sight in the forest in high summer that the fast flying Silver-washed Fritillary with its swooping flight, ably accompanied by the gliding White Admiral or the odd glimpse of the masterful Purple Emperor.
The male is distinguished from the female with its four black streaks on the upper side forewing which contain pheromones used in courtship.
The butterfly is named from the silver streaks on the underside hindwing which are clearly visible as they feed on their favourite nectar source Bramble. (See streaks in photo 5) The butterfly frequents the sunnier parts of the forest but breeds in the shadier parts.
Most years in Southern England a few of the bronze-green females, form valezina are recorded although I have yet to obtain a decent photo.
A familiar site along forest rides is the mating ritual of the Silver-washed Fritillary as the two fly close to one another where the male first loops under in front of the female and then back over the back of the female in a circular motion,something that is always eye catching to the butterfly observer.
Subspecies
A. p.paphia Linnaeus, 1758-Europe:Caucasus : Transcaucasia : N & C Turkey : NW Iran
A. p.paphia Linnaeus, 1758-Europe:Caucasus : Transcaucasia : N & C Turkey : NW Iran
Forms : Aberrations : Subspecies
A. p. ab.ocellata Frings, 1902
A. p. ab.nigricans Cosmovici, 1892
A. p. ab.ocellata Frings, 1902
A. p. ab.nigricans Cosmovici, 1892
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Adoxaceae - Viburnum Family
- Viburnham opulus - Guelder Rose
- Brassicaceae - Mustards - Mustard Flowers - Cabbage Family
- Cardamine bulbifera - Coral Root
- Erysimum cheiri - Wallflower
- Hesperis matronalis - Sweet Rocket - Dame's Violet
- Rosaceae - Rose Family
- Crataegus monogyna - Hawthorn
- Prunus spinosa - Blackthorn - Sloe (Britain)
- Rubus idaeus - Raspberry - Framboise
- Urticaeae - Nettle Family
- Urtica dioica - Stinging Nettle - Common Nettle
- Violaceae - Violet - Pansy Family
- Viola canina - Heath Dog Violet - Dog Violet
- Viola odorata syn.hirta - Sweet Violet - Hairy Violet
- Viola palustris - Dwarf Marsh Violet
- Viola riviniana - Wood Violet - Common Dog Violet
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Subgenus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species-ARGYNNIS: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Nymphalidae Heliconiinae Argynnini ARGYNNIS Fabricius, 1807 Argynnis Fabricius, 1807 Argynnis ( Argynnis ) paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) - PAPILIO paphia (Linnaeus, 1758) = Argynnis valesina Esper, 1798 = Papilio paphia Linnaeus, 1758 = Argynnis immaculata Bellier, 1862 = Argynnis anargyra Staudinger, 1871 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.481 n.138 - Sweden - A.p. albomaculata Goodson, 1959 A.p. calidegenita Stauder, 1921 A.p. confluens Spuler, 1901 A.p. immaculata Bellier, 1862 A.p. lutea Reuss, 1916 A.p. nana Stephan, 1923 A.p. nigricans Cosmovici, 1892 A.p. ocellata Frings, 1902 A.p. subtusaurea Reuss, 1923 A.p. subtuscoerulea Reuss, 1923 A.p. valesina-eudora Fischer, 1915 A.p. valesina-udei Reuss, 1926 A.p. f.valesina Esper, 1800 - A.p.butleri Krulikovsky, 1909-N. Europe : C. Europe A.p.thalassata Fruhstorfer, 1909-Southern Europe A.p.dives Oberthür, 1908-Mountains of N Algeria A.p.argyrorrhytes Seitz, 1909-North Caucasus A.p.delila Röber, 1896-Turkey A.p.masandarensis Gross & Ebert, 1975-Iran A.p.pusilla Wnukowsky, 1927-North-West Siberia A.p.neopaphia Fruhstorfer, 1907-Amur A.p.virescens Nakahara, 1926-Kuriles A.p.geisha Hemming, 1934-Japan A.p.tsushimana Fruhstorfer, 1906-Japan A.p.megalegoria Fruhstorfer, 1907-Szechuan : Yunnan A.p.argyrophontes Oberthür, 1923-South-West China A.p.formosicola Matsumura A.p.paphia Linnaeus, 1758-Europe:Caucasus : Transcaucasia : N & C Turkey : NW Iran A.p.immaculata Bellier, 1862-Corsica & Sardinia A.p.delila Robur, 1896-Turkey (Mugla,Antayla,Isparta,Konya, Karaman,Adana,Kahramanmaras,Hatay) - |
