| Mexican fritillary | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Euptoieta |
| Species: | E. hegesia |
| Binomial name | |
| Euptoieta hegesia (Cramer, 1779) | |
Euptoieta hegesia, the Mexican fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
The upperside of the wings is bright orange with the basal part of the hindwing unmarked. There is a row of submarginal black spots on both the forewing and the hindwing. The underside of the wings is yellow orange with no submarginal black spots. [1] It has a wingspan of 2.5 to 3 inches. [2]
The only similar species in the Mexican fritillary's range is the variegated fritillary ( Euptoieta claudia ). The variegated fritillary has black median lines on the upperside of the hindwing, and on the underside of the hindwing it has a pale postmedian band. [1]
The Mexican fritillary may be seen from mid-June to November in Arizona, from July to December in Texas and year-round in Mexico. [2] [3]
This species may be encountered in a wide range of open habitats and gardens. [2]
The larva is shiny red, with middorsal silver spots edged with black. It has a subdorsal row of white spots ringed with black, a spiracular silver line with black edges, and six rows of black spines. The red head has two long black spines with clubbed ends. The chrysalis is dark brown or rarely tan, with gold eyes and short gold lateral and subdorsal cones. On the wing cases, it has a black marking shaped like a "T". It has one to three broods per year. [3]
Here is a list of host plants used by the Mexican fritillary:
The silver-washed fritillary is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palearctic realm – Algeria, Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan.
The Adonis blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm.
Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.
Melitaea diamina, the false heath fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Kaniska canace, the blue admiral, is a nymphalid butterfly, the only species of the genus Kaniska. It is found in south and southeast Asia.
The Indian fritillary is a species of butterfly of the nymphalid or brush-footed family. It is usually found from south and southeast Asia to Australia.
Boloria dia, the Weaver's fritillary or violet fritillary, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The name Weaver's fritillary is in honor of Richard Weaver, an English insect collector who claimed to have obtained the specimen within ten miles of Birmingham around 1820. However, B. dia is very rare in England and the few specimens known from there are thought to be from possibly accidental introductions.
Melitaea didyma, the spotted fritillary or red-band fritillary, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Boloria bellona, the meadow fritillary, is a North American butterfly in the brushfoot family, Nymphalidae. The common name, meadow fritillary, is also used for a European butterfly species, Melitaea parthenoides.
Nathalis iole, the dainty sulphur or dwarf yellow, is a North American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their use of passionflowers as a host plant, variegated fritillaries also have taxonomic links to the heliconians. Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word euptoietos meaning "easily scared".
Parides alopius, the white-dotted cattleheart, is an endemic Mexican butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It has also strayed once into the United States in southeastern Arizona.
Telegonus cellus, the golden banded-skipper, is a North and Central American species of butterfly in the family Hesperiidae. There are two populations, one in the eastern United States and the other in the southwestern United States and Mexico. The eastern population is rare and local and uses only one host plant, the thicket bean. The southwestern population is uncommon to common and uses more than one host plant. The golden banded-skipper is most active mid-morning and late afternoon. Their flight is sluggish and low to the ground, compared to closely related species.
Danaus eresimus, the soldier or tropical queen, is a North American, Caribbean, and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Eurema mexicana, the Mexican yellow, sometimes called the wolf-face sulphur, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae. It occurs mainly in Mexico but occasionally is found in central and southwestern United States and rarely in Canada.
Eurema proterpia, the tailed orange, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Pieridae.
Chlosyne lacinia, the bordered patch or sunflower patch, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Papilio palamedes, the Palamedes swallowtail or laurel swallowtail, is a North American butterfly in the family Papilionidae.
Chlorostrymon simaethis, the silver-banded hairstreak, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is also known as St. Christopher's hairstreak and the Key lime hairstreak.
Speyeria callippe, the callippe fritillary, is a North American species of butterflies in the brush-footed family Nymphalidae.
Media related to Euptoieta hegesia at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Euptoieta at Wikispecies