Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Brush-footed Butterflies (Nymphalidae) » Heliconians and Fritillaries (Heliconiinae) » Fritillaries (Argynnini) » Greater Fritillaries (Speyeria) » Great Spangled Fritillary - Hodges#4450 (Speyeria cybele)

Species Speyeria cybele - Great Spangled Fritillary - Hodges#4450

Classification · Hodges Number · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Aphrodite? - Speyeria cybele Orange Butterfly - Speyeria cybele - male Fritillary - Speyeria cybele unidentified butterfly - Speyeria cybele - female What species of Fritillary? - Speyeria cybele - female Great Spangled Fritillary - Speyeria cybele Butterfly id - Speyeria cybele Fritillary; Great Spangled or Atlantis ? - Speyeria cybele
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Subfamily Heliconiinae (Heliconians and Fritillaries)
Tribe Argynnini (Fritillaries)
Genus Speyeria (Greater Fritillaries)
Species cybele (Great Spangled Fritillary - Hodges#4450)
Hodges Number
4450
Explanation of Names
Speyeria cybele (Fabricius, 1775)
Cybele was an Anatolian goddess.
Size
Wingspan 6-10 cm
Identification
Large, compare with other fritillaries.
Range
Much of North America, but absent or rare in southmost tier of states - Map (MPG)

Distribution of Subspecies:

carpenteri ; Southwestern Colorado, southern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico (blends into ssp. charlottii in east central Utah and west central Colorado)
charlotti ; more inland distribution in the southern Rocky Mountain region
leto ; Inland. Mountains of California (Sierra Nevada), north into s. British Columbia, sw. Alberta w. Montana
letona ; primarily the central high country of Utah, along the Wasatch and high mesas of the west edge of the Colorado Plateaus
krautwurmi ; The Upper Peninsula of Michigan and northward into Ontario
novascotiae ; Novia Scotia
pseudocarpenteri ; found mostly in Canada from Manitoba and adjacent Minnesota to northern British Columbia
pugetensis ; occurring west from the Cascades to the Pacific further north in ?Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia
Habitat
Open areas, moist fields, prairies
Season
mostly May-Sept (MPG, BG data)
Life Cycle
Larvae feed on violets.
Print References
Allen (1)
Brock (2)
Glassberg (3)
Scott (4)
Internet References
Moth Photographers Group - MPG
Butterflies of America - BOA
Butterflies and Moths of North America - BAMONA
Works Cited
1.The Butterflies of West Virginia and Their Caterpillars
Thomas J. Allen. 1998. University of Pittsburgh Press.
2.Butterflies of North America (Kaufman Focus Guides)
Jim P. Brock, Kenn Kaufman. 2003. Houghton Mifflin Co.
3.Butterflies Through Binoculars: The East
Jeffrey Glassberg. 1999. Oxford University Press.
4.The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide
James A. Scott. 1992. Stanford University Press.
Contributed by Cotinis on 11 June, 2004 - 4:12pm
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Jason D. Roberts, Robert Lord Zimlich
Last updated 21 June, 2024 - 9:51pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact