Bug FAQGreat Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The great spangled fritillary has orange upper wings with black dashes near the forewing base, irregular black dashes at the hindwing base, and two rows of black crescents along the wing edges. It lives in moist meadows and woodland edges across a broad swath of North America from southern Canada to northern California and east to North Carolina. Caterpillars feed on various native violet species.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Orange upper wings with five black dashes near the forewing base, irregular black dashes at the hindwing base, and two rows of black crescents along the wing edges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Prefers moist meadows and the edges of woodlands.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on several species of native violets. It is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Found across much of North America, from southern Canada west to northern California and east to North Carolina.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Similar species include the Aphrodite fritillary, Atlantis fritillary, and northwestern fritillary.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 48 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Vermont, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Missouri, Tennessee.
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 does the great spangled fritillary look like?
It has orange upper wings with black dashes near the forewing base, irregular black dashes at the hindwing base, and two rows of black crescents along the wing edges.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the great spangled fritillary found?
It occurs across North America from southern Canada to northern California and east to North Carolina.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
_in_Cades_Cove,_GSMNP,_TN.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_spangled_fritillary
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.