Bug FAQFreija Fritillary
Boloria freija · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Freiya's Fritillary, Frejya's Fritillary, Zigzag Fritillary
The Freija fritillary is a butterfly whose size matches that of the species Dia. It lives in bogs and tundra across northern Europe, Siberia, the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia, Hokkaido, and parts of North America including the Rocky Mountains.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The underside of the hindwing has a variegated pattern with a silvery-white band, a large rhomboidal silver spot on the costa, and long silver spots along the margin.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its overall size is essentially the same as that of the butterfly Dia.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in bogs and tundra environments.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
The larvae feed on plants such as cloudberry, Dryas species, bog bilberry, alpine bearberry, bearberry, black crowberry, and two rhododendron species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
It occurs north of 60° N in Europe and extends through the Urals, Siberia, the Russian Far East, the mountains of northern Mongolia, Hokkaido, and into North America, reaching the Rocky Mountains as far south as 35° N.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The underside of the hindwing looks similar to that of Chariclea but is more variegated.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 10 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Alaska, Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington, Montana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do Freija fritillary caterpillars eat?
The caterpillars feed on cloudberry, Dryas, bog bilberry, alpine bearberry, bearberry, black crowberry, and rhododendrons.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I find the Freija fritillary?
It lives in bogs and tundra across northern Europe, Siberia, the Russian Far East, northern Mongolia, Hokkaido, and parts of North America including the Rocky Mountains.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boloria_freija
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.