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Photo#66390
Fritiallry - Speyeria aphrodite - male

Fritiallry - Speyeria aphrodite - Male
Custer State Park, Little Devil's Tower Trail, Custer County, South Dakota, USA
July 21, 2006
I am having a difficult time telling which Fritillary this is. Unfortunately I don't have a shot of the underwings.

Moved

Try this...
There are better than a dozen fritillaries in that county. Check out their photos at:

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/map?dc=4920&_dcc=1&si=42

 
How about [url=http://bugguid

 
Tough call, and I'm no expert.
I lean towards S. aphrodite. Can you make out the eyes? They should be dull yellow green for S. aphrodite. There are many small differences between the two described in Butterflies through Binoculars The West by Jeffrey Glassberg, and if you pick through these you may be able to sort things finer.

 
Speyeria aphrodite
Hi, I agree with this species. It's easy to rule out S. cybele, S. idalia, and S. mormonia. This is a female; note the pointed abdomen. Knowing the gender always helps to narrow it down a bit. Look at the row of spots in the median band row on the hind wing - separate and small. The border is not black. The pale spots below don't show through much. The eyes appear to be brownish (hard to tell though). The outer margin of the forwing is roughly straight. The veins on the forwing are not lined strongly in black (though this trait is only a really good one in the males).

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