Pollinator
Variegated fritillary
Euptoieta claudia
A tawny wanderer that bridges the fritillaries and the longwings.
- Family
- Nymphalidae (brush-footed)
- Wingspan
- 1.75 to 3.1 in (4.5 to 7.9 cm)
- Flight season
- Spring to fall
- Range
- Across the United States; migratory
- Caterpillar food
- Violets and passionflowers
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
A warm tawny-orange butterfly of open country, the variegated fritillary bridges the gap between the true fritillaries and the longwings, and is less silvery below than its relatives.
It is a wanderer, spreading north each summer across fields, prairies, and roadsides, and flies in several broods.
Unusually for a fritillary, its caterpillars feed on both violets and passionflowers, as well as flax and stonecrop.
Plants for the variegated fritillary
7 caterpillar host plants and 48 documented nectar plants. Pick a role, then narrow with the filters below.
53 plants
Nectar
1 of 2 Common Sunflower Helianthus annuus Host + Nectar
1 of 2 Purple passionflower Passiflora incarnata Nectar
1 of 2 Butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Nectar
1 of 2 Mayapple Podophyllum peltatum Nectar
1 of 3 Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Nectar
1 of 2 Dense blazing star Liatris spicata Nectar
1 of 2 Buttonbush Cephalanthus occidentalis Host
1 of 2 Fetid passionflower Passiflora foetida Nectar
1 of 3 Firewheel Gaillardia pulchella Nectar
1 of 3 Cutleaf coneflower Rudbeckia laciniata Nectar
1 of 3 False sunflower Heliopsis helianthoides Nectar
1 of 2 New England aster Symphyotrichum novae-angliae Nectar
1 of 2 Canadian Meadow garlic Allium canadense Nectar
Cup plant Silphium perfoliatum Nectar
1 of 3 Lance-leaved Coreopsis Coreopsis lanceolata Nectar
1 of 2 Turkey tangle frogfruit Phyla nodiflora Nectar
1 of 3 Texas bluebonnet Lupinus texensis Nectar
1 of 2 Orange coneflower Rudbeckia fulgida Nectar
1 of 3 Great blanketflower Gaillardia aristata Nectar
1 of 2 Great blue lobelia Lobelia siphilitica Nectar
1 of 2 Snow-on-the-mountain Euphorbia marginata Nectar
1 of 2 Tall goldenrod Solidago altissima Nectar
1 of 2 Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Nectar
1 of 2 Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Nectar
1 of 3 Large-flowered tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora Nectar
1 of 2 Common wrinkle-leaved goldenrod Solidago rugosa Nectar
1 of 3 Upright prairie coneflower Ratibida columnifera Nectar
1 of 2 Hoary vervain Verbena stricta Nectar
1 of 3 Spotted horsemint Monarda punctata Nectar
1 of 2 Flat-topped goldenrod Euthamia graminifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Grey-headed coneflower Ratibida pinnata Nectar
Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata Nectar
1 of 2 Yellow coneflower Echinacea paradoxa Nectar
Narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Nectar
1 of 2 Rose vervain Glandularia canadensis Nectar
1 of 2 Dotted gayfeather Liatris punctata Nectar
1 of 3 Rough blazing star Liatris aspera Nectar
1 of 2 Rocky Mountain zinnia Zinnia grandiflora Nectar
Hoary Mountainmint Pycnanthemum incanum Host
1 of 2 Bird's foot violet Viola pedata Host
1 of 2 California Golden Violet Viola pedunculata Nectar
1 of 2 False aster Boltonia asteroides Host + Nectar
1 of 2 Prairie Violet Viola pedatifida Nectar
1 of 2 Engelmann daisy Engelmannia peristenia Nectar
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis Nectar
1 of 2 Red dome blanketflower Gaillardia pinnatifida Host
1 of 2 Long-spurred violet Viola rostrata Nectar
1 of 2 Texas baby blue eyes Nemophila phacelioides Nectar
Tall coreopsis Coreopsis tripteris Nectar
Perfumeballs Gaillardia suavis Host
1 of 2 New Mexico yellow flax Linum neomexicanum Nectar
1 of 2 Chili pepper Capsicum annuum Nectar
Lyre-leaf greeneyes Berlandiera lyrata
1 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 31 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 2No plants match those filters.
Sources
- Butterflies and Moths of North America ↗
- iNaturalist ↗
- Plant associations from GloBI flower-visit records and NPIN larval-host data. Butterfly photographs via iNaturalist (CC BY).