Bug FAQGulf Fritillary
Dione vanillae · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Passion Butterfly
The Gulf fritillary is a medium-sized orange butterfly with black streaks and silvery spots on the underside of its wings. It lives in sunny open areas such as grasslands, parks, woodlands and butterfly gardens across the southern United States and further south into Argentina. Caterpillars feed on Passiflora vines, while adults sip nectar from many flowers, including lantana.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side of the wings is bright orange with black streaks; the underside is brown with silvery white dots. Females tend to be darker and have more black markings than males.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adults have a wingspan of about 6.5 to 9.5 cm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found in open, moderately sunny habitats like grasslands, parks, woodlands, and butterfly gardens.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat Passiflora species; adults feed on nectar from many flowers, such as lantana.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs develop in three to five days, and the chrysalis stage lasts eleven to twenty-one days.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are seen in sunny open habitats during the warm months when females lay eggs low over host plants.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Their range includes the southern United States (Florida, Texas, etc.) and extends through Central and South America to Argentina.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The Gulf fritillary, also called the passion butterfly, belongs to the subfamily Heliconiinae of the Nymphalidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 41 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Florida, California, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the caterpillars eat?
Caterpillars feed on vines of the Passiflora genus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where can I see Gulf fritillaries?
Look for them in sunny open areas such as parks, grasslands, woodlands, and butterfly gardens in the southern U.S. and further south.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_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.