#melitaea cinxia

Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia)

The Glanville fritillary is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. These butterflies live in almost all of Europe, especially Finland, and in parts of northwest Africa. It has been discovered that this butterfly only mates one time in June or July and lays its eggs. It does not provide any protection to these eggs or care for the offspring. As adults, the Glanville fritillaries are short-lived; they spend most of their lives as caterpillars. As caterpillars, Glanville fritillaries enter a stage of diapause, which is a period of suspended development, during the winter time. The spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain are the Glanville fritillary’s preferred plants to lay eggs and to eat as larvae. Female butterflies will show a preference for one plant species over the other when deciding where to lay their eggs, but the caterpillars have no preference once they hatch. After entering the adult phase the fritillaries feed on nectar of the spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain, among others. This species of butterfly is at risk of population decline because it is not a migratory species. 

photo credits: Harald Süpfle,Sven Damerow