Passion Butterfly On Black

While on a little hike in the mountains I came upon this beautiful Passion Butterfly. It took a little time to get the photo because of the constant... more

by Robert Bales

Title

Passion Butterfly On Black

Artist

Robert Bales

Medium

Photograph - Photo

Description

While on a little hike in the mountains I came upon this beautiful Passion Butterfly. It took a little time to get the photo because of the constant movement.

Fritillaries are a smaller group within the butterfly family Nymphalidae. All butterflies in this family have tiny front legs that lack claws (in most other butterfly families, the front legs have claws). This family includes many other common butterflies, including viceroys, checkerspots, and heliconians. Togther, all of the butterflies in this family are known as "brush-footed butterflies."

The fritillary subfamily is called Argynninae. Fritillaries are usually medium- to large-sized, and their wings are brownish-orange with wavy black lines and spots. As with all butterflies, fritillaries have scaly wings and coiled mouthparts.

Since most fritillaries look very similar, wing patterns must be closely examined and compared with pictures in field guides for accurate identification. There are also a few species of Checkerspots and Crescent butterflies (also in the Nymphalidae family) that look very much like fritillaries.

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May 28th, 2022