Bug FAQDark Green Fritillary
Argynnis aglaja · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly
The dark green fritillary has a bright reddish-yellow upper side with a consistent pattern of black margins, thin arcs, a straight central row of dots, and six thin black transverse bands near the base. Adults feed on nectar from common knapweed, marsh thistle, devil's-bit scabious and field scabious, while the caterpillars hatch, eat their eggshell, hibernate, then feed on various violets in spring. They lay eggs in high summer on or near violet plants; the larvae emerge in spring, pupate in May, and the butterflies appear a few weeks later.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side is fiery reddish-yellow, with the male’s basal area a bit duller, and the wing pattern includes a black margin, thin black arcs, a straight central row of dots, and six thin black transverse bands near the base.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults sip nectar from common knapweed, marsh thistle, devil’s-bit scabious and field scabious. Newly hatched caterpillars eat their eggshell, then hibernate before feeding on violets in spring.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are laid in high summer on or near violet species; larvae emerge in spring, feed on violets, pupate in May, and adults emerge a few weeks later.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Eggs are laid in the high summer months in Great Britain.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Unlike the Niobe fritillary and high brown fritillary, it lacks a row of eye-like spots (ocelli) on the wing margin.
Source: Wikipedia
Questions people ask
Are they a garden pest?
They feed on nectar from several wildflowers and on violets as caterpillars, but no source says they damage crops or garden plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What plants do the caterpillars eat?
Caterpillars feed on common dog-violet, marsh dog violet and heath dog violet.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see adult dark green fritillaries?
Adults emerge a few weeks after May, following pupation in spring.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_green_fritillary
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.