Bug FAQDiana Fritillary
Speyeria diana · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Diana fritillary is a butterfly whose females are dark blue, larger than males, and have dusty underwings. Males show orange edging on their wings and a burnt-orange underwing. It lives in wooded areas of the southern and eastern United States, especially the Arkansas River valley, parts of South Carolina, the Appalachian range and the southern Cumberland Plateau.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males have orange along the wing edges and a burnt-orange underwing. Females are dark blue with dusty-looking underwings.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Females are larger than males.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in several wooded areas across southern and eastern North America. Key locations include the Arkansas River valley, several South Carolina counties, spots along the Appalachian mountains and the southern Cumberland Plateau.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on violet leaves. Adults sip flower nectar and also feed on dung.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
After hatching, larvae burrow into the ground to overwinter and emerge in spring. Females scatter their eggs around the base of the host plant instead of laying them directly on it.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to southern and eastern North America. Its core range is the Arkansas River valley, parts of South Carolina, the Appalachian range and the southern Cumberland Plateau.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, South Carolina.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: endemic in North America; endemic in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do adult Diana fritillaries eat?
Adults drink flower nectar and also feed on dung.
Source: Wikipedia
Where does the Diana fritillary live?
It inhabits wooded areas of southern and eastern North America, especially the Arkansas River valley, parts of South Carolina, the Appalachian mountains and the southern Cumberland Plateau.
Source: Wikipedia
How does the Diana fritillary lay its eggs?
Females scatter eggs around the base of the host plant rather than placing them directly on the plant.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_fritillary
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.