Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)

Family: Nymphalidae Checklist: 59.017

 
Description
Wing span: 60-62 mm. This butterfly is the largest British fritillary and gets its name from the streaks of silver found on the underside of the wings. The male has four distinctive sex brands on its forewings that are used in courtship. The female is paler than the male, has rounder wings, fewer linear markings and more prominent spots. There is a variation in females called f. valezina, which has a silvery green ground colour to the upper surfaces. It is found in England south-west of a line drawn between Merseyside and the Thames Estuary. It is found in woodland where the larval food plant grows. Both deciduous and coniferous woodland is used; the presence of this butterfly is only limited by the presence of nectar sources and the larval food plant.
 
Images (click to enlarge)
Silver-washed Fritillary ♂ © David Hastings
Silver-washed Fritillary ♂ underside © David Hastings
Silver-washed Fritillary ♀ © David Hastings
Silver-washed Fritillary ♀ underside © David Hastings
Male Male underside Female Female underside
 
Life Cycle
The flight period is from late June to the end of August, with a peak in mid-July. The larva is the over-wintering stage.
 
Larval Foodplants
The larval food plant is the Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana).
 
Nectar Sources
Adults frequently feed on aphid honeydew in the tree-tops. However, they often descend to nectar on Bramble and Thistle.
 
UK Conservation Status
Least Concern
 
Earliest UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 9th June
Mean UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 20th June
 
Species Champion
Ellen Stickland
Email:
Reports
 
Distribution and Sites
 

Key
1 sighting 2-9 max seen 10+ max seen
This species is a habitat specialist. It can be found at these sites:
Berkshire
Bowdown Wood
Fence Wood
Moor Copse
Buckinghamshire
Bernwood Forest
Bernwood Meadows
Black Park
Calvert Jubilee
Dancersend
Homefield Wood
Howe Park Wood
Wendover Woods
Oxfordshire
Aston Rowant NNR
Aston Upthorpe Downs
Dry Sandford Pit
Otmoor
Warburg Reserve
Waterperry Wood

 
Related Species
All Species