Great Spangled Fritillary Butterfly
Facts about the great spangled fritillary. Habitat: open woodlands and nearby open areas such as meadows, roadsides, powerline clearings, and gardens. Sometimes roams far from woods in search of flowers. Host plants: Violets, probably many of the 26 native species known in Ohio.
Points of interest. This is a large butterfly with a strong flight. Fortunately they frequently stop at flowers, especially milkweed so that observers can admire them. Several adults can often be found together on a single flower head. Males often gather at mud puddles and animal scat, Taking in Mineral salts and proteins. Females are larger and darker than males, and do not appear until late in the summer when many males are already flight worn. Fritillaries employ a rather haphazard reproductive strategy. Females lay eggs near their host plants but not often on the plants. Newly hatched larvae overwinter without feeding. In spring, they must make their way to the hosts, upon which they only feed at night. This strategy probably increases mortality and may account for the declies in a number of fritillary species. For instance the regal fritillary is listed as endangered in Ohio and has not been seen in the state sense 1988. Source Ohio DNR Wildlife Guide