Regal Fritillary
Speyeria idalia (Drury, 1773)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Heliconiinae
Identification: Large. Upperside of forewing bright red-orange with black markings. Upperside of hindwing black with postmedian row of white spots; submarginal row of spots is orange in male and white in female.
Wing Span: 2 5/8 - 4 1/8 inches (6.7 - 10.5 cm).
Life History: Males patrol for females with a low, steady flight. Females walk through vegetation to lay single eggs on various plants, even if the host violets are not present. Most eggs are laid in August. The caterpillars hatch and overwinter unfed; in spring they eat leaves of host plants.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to mid-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Violets including bird\'s foot violet (Viola pedata).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers of milkweeds, thistles, red clover, and mountain mint.
Habitat: Tall-grass prairie and other open sites including damp meadows, marshes, wet fields, and mountain pastures.
Range: Tall-grass prairie remnants in Montana and North Dakota south to Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma; rare or absent from former range east of the Appalachians.
Conservation: Rapidly vanishing or declining in much of its range. A species of concern for the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. All populations should be conserved.
NCGR: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management Needs: Monitor populations and manage populations on public lands and preserves.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 25 - 48 of 873 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 03, 2019
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Ransom County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: stevekohler
Verified date: Feb 03, 2021
Observation date: Aug 04, 2019
Submitted by: Eric Wood
Region: Oliver County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: stevekohler
Verified date: Feb 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 18, 2020
Submitted by: MindyHouseholder
Region: Morton County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: stevekohler
Verified date: Feb 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 07, 2018
Submitted by: Kaliki73
Region: Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 04, 2020
Observation date: Jul 05, 2019
Submitted by: APlouzek
Region: Lancaster County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 03, 2020
Observation date: Sep 13, 2019
Submitted by: TedKys
Region: Loup County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 03, 2020
Observation date: Jul 23, 2020
Submitted by: Sprenger Ranch
Region: Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 21, 2020
Submitted by: Jrunnergirl
Region: Saunders County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 02, 2020
Observation date: Aug 18, 2019
Submitted by: scott ellis
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: azukoff
Verified date: Nov 23, 2020
Observation date: Sep 06, 2019
Submitted by: COA1955
Region: Morgan County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Nov 21, 2020
Observation date: Jun 23, 2020
Submitted by: Jill Haukos
Region: Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 09, 2020
Observation date: Aug 22, 2020
Submitted by: COA1955
Region: Morgan County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: azukoff
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 10, 2020
Submitted by: Christian.Nunes
Region: Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Aug 23, 2020
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: Tommie Rogers
Region: Newton County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Jul 16, 2020
Observation date: Jun 24, 2020
Submitted by: L Reid
Region: Wabasha County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Jun 28, 2020
Observation date: Jun 09, 2020
Submitted by: Jill Haukos
Region: Riley County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jun 23, 2020
Observation date: Jun 30, 2007
Submitted by: Tommie Rogers
Region: Holt County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: May 26, 2020
Observation date: Sep 01, 2019
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Feb 17, 2020
Observation date: Jun 11, 2006
Submitted by: Jay Cossey
Region: Mason County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 31, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 1942
Submitted by: Jay Cossey
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jan 31, 2020
Observation date: Jul 13, 2019
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Weld County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Aug 15, 2019
Submitted by: Nancy Witthuhn
Region: Ness County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 17, 2019
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 03, 2019
Observation date: Jun 03, 2018
Submitted by: ceppard@joplin.com
Region: Barton County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 01, 2019
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