Bug FAQGreat Basin Fritillary
Speyeria egleis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Great Basin fritillary is a butterfly with orange-brown wings marked with dark patterns and a wingspan of about 45 to 60 mm. It lives in mountain meadows, forest openings and rocky ridges across the western United States, from North Dakota through Oregon and California down to Colorado. Caterpillars feed on the leaves of several violet species, and adults fly from late June through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The wingspan ranges from 45 to 60 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from late June to August.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are active from late June through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 11 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Nevada.
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
When can I see adult Great Basin fritillaries?
Adults are on the wing from late June to August.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyeria_egleis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.