Glanville fritillary

Melitaea cinxia
Upperside
Underside
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Melitaea
Species:
M. cinxia
Binomial name
Melitaea cinxia
Synonyms
  • Papilio cinxia Linnaeus, 1758
  • Papilio pilodellae Rottemburg, 1775
  • Papilio delia Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775[1]
  • Euphydryas cinxia[2][3]

The Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is named for the naturalist who discovered it and the checkerboard pattern on its wings. These butterflies live in almost all of Europe, especially Finland, and in parts of northwest Africa. They are absent from the far north of Europe and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. To the east they are found across the Palearctic (in Turkey, Russia, northern Kazakhstan, and Mongolia).

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.[4]

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. Though widespread, populations in Finland are at risk because they are not able to travel great distances as easily as other species, such as monarchs, if their environment should suddenly become unsuitable.[5][6]

  1. ^ Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 Ank. syst. Schmett. Wienergegend : 179
  2. ^ Savela, Markku. "Melitaea Fabricius, 1807". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  3. ^ "Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758)". Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2017.
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