The Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is named for the naturalist who discovered it and the checkerboard pattern on its wings. These butterflies live in almost all of Europe, especially Finland, and in parts of northwest Africa. They are absent from the far north of Europe and parts of the Iberian Peninsula. To the east they are found across the Palearctic (in Turkey, Russia, northern Kazakhstan, and Mongolia).
It has been discovered that this butterfly only mates one time in June or July and lays its eggs. It does not provide any protection to these eggs or care for the offspring. As adults, the Glanville fritillaries are short-lived; they spend most of their lives as caterpillars. As caterpillars, Glanville fritillaries enter a stage of diapause, which is a period of suspended development, during the winter time.
The spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain are the Glanville fritillary's preferred plants to lay eggs and to eat as larvae. Female butterflies will show a preference for one plant species over the other when deciding where to lay their eggs, but the caterpillars have no preference once they hatch. After entering the adult phase the fritillaries feed on nectar of the spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain, among others.
This species of butterfly is at risk of population decline because it is not a migratory species. Though widespread, populations in Finland are at risk because they are not able to travel great distances as easily as other species, such as monarchs, if their environment should suddenly become unsuitable.
Cinxia (from Latin) - belted (cinctus - belt). The name reflects the appearance of the butterfly.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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starts withMelitaea cinxia has a wingspan of about 33–40 millimetres (1.3–1.6 in). These medium-sized butterflies have orange, black, and white "checkerspot" forewings. On the upper side of the hindwings they have a row of black dots. The hindwings have white and orange bands and a series of black dots inside them, also clearly visible on the reverse. Females are usually more dull than males with more developed black dots. In Seitz it is described - M. cinxia L. (65 e, f). Above uniformly pale yellowish red, marked with black, somewhat recalling a chess-board, the white fringes being checkered. A row of heavy black dots in the submarginal row of spots on the hindwing is characteristic. Excepting the pale yellow black-dotted apex, the forewing beneath uniformly reddish leather-yellow, with dispersed blackspots, which vary in number. The species though of wide distribution, has not developed into many races.
Caterpillars are about 25 mm long with a reddish-brown head and a spiny black body with small white dots.
Melitaea cinxia is rather similar to the heath fritillary (Melitaea athalia), but the beige and orange bands on the underwings are distinctive. Moreover, the latter one has no spots on the upperside of the hindwings.
The Glanville fritillary is found across Europe and temperate Asia. It is most commonly found on Åland (Finland), which host a network of about 4,000 dry meadows, the fritillary's ideal habitat. These butterflies commonly inhabit open grassland at an elevation of 0–2,000 metres (0–6,562 ft) above sea level.
Adult Glanville fritillaries take flight, mate, and lay their eggs from June to early July. During this time it has been found that females only mate once. Females also tend to mate in their natal groups before dispersing with a mate to lay their eggs in a different population. This dispersal helps induce genetic flow between populations on the fragmented meadows of the Åland Islands.
This butterfly is not currently listed as threatened in Europe, but its UK BAP status is Priority Species. The NERC act of England lists it as species of principal importance. Its Butterfly Conservation priority is high, so this is a butterfly likely to be increasingly threatened in the coming years.
