59.033 : 1610 : 7268
Nymphalidae : Nymphalinae

Marsh Fritillary

EUPHYDRYAS aurinia (Rottemburg, 1775)


Picture

Life Cycle Guide

Picture
Description
Wingspan: Male : 29-37mm : Female : 30-43mm
Worldwide Distribution: Temperate Europe : N-W Africa : Central Asia : Caucasus : Asia Minor : N Iran
UK Distribution: Western England : Western Scotland : Wales : Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
  • NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
  • Northern Ireland - Priority Species : 2010
  • Notable ( Nb - 1980/93 ) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
  • BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
  • Vulnerable - Butterfly Red List for Great Britain 2010
  • Fully Protected in Great Britain
European Conservation Status -
  • Vulnerable
Original Species Name:-
  • Melitaea aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)
Type Species - Euphydryas
  • Papilio phaeton Drury, 1773
Type Locality -
  • France-Paris
Altitude: Sea Level-2000m
Flight Period: UK-South-Early May-Early July : UK-North-Late May-Early July : South of Range-Mid April-June : Univoltine all regions.
Habitat: Diverse-Damp or dry grassy places : Deciduous or coniferous woodland margins : Damp,open heathland : Sheltered places on exposed mountain slopes.
Ovum: The female, whose body is swollen with eggs, is often so heavy she crawls along the ground in search of an appropriate Devil's-bit Scabious plant before bending her abdomen beneath the underside of the leaf to deposit as many as 150 eggs in neat rows.
This is repeated,possibly more than once, by placing the next row of eggs on top of the previously deposited eggs until the entire load have been deposited.She is now light enough to fly and spends the remainder of the day searching for nectar.It is possible the female will be able to repeat this feat the following day and possibly the next also. The eggs hatch after three weeks.
Larva: June-April : The young caterpillars soon build a silken web around the food plant,something that is repeated until late August. Following the third moult a denser nest among the grasses where groups of larvae overwinter. They are kept warm by trapped air in the nest.
In early spring the small larvae spin a new web over another Devil's-bit Scabious plant. In order to produce frasse the caterpillars must group together above the vegitation where being black the sun is able to raise their temperature to the 35c required to digest their food.Following more moults the larva eventually live singly, where they gorge on the larval food plant before pupating.
Pupa: The beautifully marked chrysalis is suspended beneath a leaf or stem on low growing vegetation.
Overwinters as: Small larva in a protective silk web
Observations: The Marsh Fritillary has declined severely over the past century across its entire range and has disappeared completely in many southern and eastern parts of England.
The butterfly is known to fluctuate wildly from one year to another, with poor weather affecting Marsh Fritillary mating and the resulting reduction in ovum, also following a warm spring the parasitic Apanteles wasp can pupate before the Marsh Fritillary larvae pupate, drastically  decreasing larvae/butterfly numbers accordingly.   
Another reason the butterfly has declined is due to the fragmented and isolated nature of suitable habitats which do not allow for butterflies in trouble to be re-colonised from colonies close by. Only extensive habitat networks could change the current situation and possibly reverse todays declines, giving the butterfly a long term future.

The Marsh Fritillary is our most colourful fritillary with varying degrees of red,orange,black and cream markings but within days of emergence wings scales are often removed, giving the butterfly a shiny appearance.

Subspecies
E. a.anglicana Fruhstorfer, 1917-England,Wales & Scotland
Marsh Fritillary Larvae
Typical Habitat
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.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
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Accepted Species Name:

Type Species - EUPHYDRYAS:

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Aberrations:
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Papilionoidea 
Nymphalidae
Melitaeinae
Melitaeini
Euphydryina
EUPHYDRYAS Scudder, 1872
Euphydryas aurinia (Rottemburg, 1775)
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Papilio phaeton Drury, 1773
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MELITAEA aurinia (Rottemburg 1775)
= Papilio aurinia (Rottemburg, 1775)
= Papilio artemis Schiffermüller, 1775
= Melitaea artemis Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775     
= Papilio maturna Esper, 1777
= Papilio lye Bergstrasser, 1780
= Papilio koloswarensis Piller & Mitterpacher, 1783
= Papilio matutina Thunberg, 1791
= Papilio merope de Prunner 1798
= Melitaea impunctata Schultz, 1906
= Melitaea debilis Oberthur 1909    
= Melitaea fulvacea Lambillion, 1911
= Melitaea hoffmanni Kiefer, 1916     
= Melitaea geminifasciata Cabeau, 1927     
= Melitaea gracilens Cabeau, 1927
= Melitaea frigescens Verity, 1928
= Melitaea glaciegenita Verity 1928
= Melitaea provincialis Boisduval 1828
= Melitaea valentini Nitsche 1928
= Melitaea flavofasciata Hackray, 1934        
= Melitaea insterburgia Braun, 1937    
= Melitaea infra-rectiangula Caruel, 1939    
= Euphydryas tjutjujensis Higgins, 1950
= Melitaea beckeri Herrich-Schäffer 1851
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EUPHYDRYAS Scudder, 1872
= Occidryas Higgins 1978
= Eurodryas Higgins 1978
= Hypodryas Higgins 1978
-
Anmerkungen zu den Hufnagelischen Tabellen der Schmetterlinge. Erste Abtheilung : Der Naturforscher 6: 1-34, Tab. I  Halle. :
Title Page : p.5 : n.19
-
France-Paris
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E.a. artemis Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
E.a. atricolor Schultz, 1906
E.a. deficiens Cabeau, 1928
E.a. dubia Krulikowsky, 1890
E.a. infrafasciata Hörhammer, 1935
E.a. infraochrea Verity, 1950
E.a. melanoleuca Cabeau, 1932
E.a. namurcensis Lambillion, 1909
E.a. nigrolimbata Schultz, 1906
E.a. ochrea Tutt, 1896
E.a. rectiangula Cabeau, 1924
E.a. sebaldus Schultz, 1906
E.a. sesostris Schultz, 1906
E.a  sesquiargentea Verity, 1950
E.a. suffusa Frohawk, 1938
E.a. tetramelana Cabeau, 1931
E.a. virgata Tutt, 1896
E.a. f.scotica Robson, 1880-Scotland
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E.a.anglicana Fruhstorfer, 1917-England,Wales
E.a.aurinia-From Atlantic coast of France across W & C Europe,S Sweden & Finland,Baltic countries,Romania,N-W & C Ukraine to Volga river on European Russia
E.a.bulgarica Fruhstorfer, 1916-W & C Balkans,N & E Turkey,S Transcaucasia, N Iran
E.a.laeta Christoph, 1893-Central Siberia : Altai : Sayan : Transbaikal
E.a.beckeri Lederer, 1853-Iberian Peninsula-except some north-eatern part (to be defined)
E.a.barraguei Betz, 1956-N Algeria
E.a.debilis Oberthür, 1909-Pyranees(Spain,France,Andorra)
E.a.provincialis Boisduval, 1828-S France : N & C Italy,W Slovenia & W Croatia
E.a.pellucida Christoph, 1893-Caucasus mountains
E.a.sareptensis Staudinger,1879-S Ukraine : S European Russia-Odessa region in the west to left bank of Volga river in the east
E.a.emba Fruhstofer, 1917-Extreme S E part of European Russia & N W Kazakhstan
E.a.ellisoni Rungs, 1950-Morocco N E High Atlas,Middle Atlas & Rif Mountains