Wingspan
Male: 39 - 44mm Female: 42 - 47mm |
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Heath Fritillary
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Melitaea athalia
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Rottemburg, 1775 |
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Ref: 1613 |
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| Superfamily: | Papilionoidea |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Subfamily: | Argynninae |
| Genus: | Melitaea |
| Subgenus: | |
| Species: | athalia |
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Male |
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Male Underside |
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Female |
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Female Underside |
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The Heath Fritillary is one of our rarest butterflies and was considered to be on the brink of extinction in the late 1970s. Strange as it may sound, the extinction of the Large Blue in 1979 was to work in favour of this species, since the shock felt by many entomologists resulted in a renewed effort to conserve the Heath Fritillary. This required detailed knowledge of this butterfly's requirements and, as a result of research conducted by Martin Warren, appropriate habitat management plans were put into effect that saved this butterfly from extinction.
This butterfly is confined to a small number of sites in south-west England, in Devon and Cornwall, and in Kent in south-east England. It has also been reintroduced at sites in Essex. Although very local in its distribution, this butterfly can be seen in large numbers at some sites in good years. This butterfly is widespread on the continent and can be one of the commonest butterflies seen in some regions. This butterfly forms discrete colonies and rarely strays from the main breeding grounds.
At sites in the west country, this butterfly emerges in late May, peaking in early June. The butterfly emerges in early June elsewhere, peaking toward the end of June. There is one generation each year. 
Colonies in south west England are found on heathland, as well as on rich grassland. Those in south east England are found in woodland. Whatever the habitat, this species requires areas that are relatively-warm. This could be a patch of heathland that has recently been burned or a newly-coppiced clearing in a wood. The butterfly will readily colonise such areas, which resulted in it being given the name of "woodman's follower" as it colonises new clearings that have been created in a wood. Woodland colonies tend to use Common Cow-wheat and Foxglove as the larval foodplant, whereas those on other sites tend to use Ribwort Plantain and Germander Speedwell.
The primary larval foodplants are Common Cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense), Germander Speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) and Ribwort Plantain (Plantago lanceolata). Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) is also used.
Adults feed primarily on Bramble (Rubus fruticosus agg.). Bugle (Ajuga reptans), Buttercups (Ranunculus spp.), Heather (Calluna vulgaris / Erica spp.), Knapweeds (Centaurea spp.) and Tormentil (Potentilla erecta) are also used.
This butterfly is very variable in terms of both the colour and the pattern of the wings. The male is the more conspicuous of the two sexes as it patrols clearings in search of a mate. They can be seen flying close to the ground alternating a few flicks of their wings with a short glide. The female has a much more laboured flight, weighed down by her load of eggs. Having found a suitable area, she will crawl around the vegetation before laying an untidy batch of up to 150 eggs. These are typically laid close to the foodplant on the underside of a Bramble leaf, or on a dead leaf. Both sexes can often be found in the company of others as they bask on shrubs.
Description to be completed
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ab. cymathoe Photo © Marc Heath |
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ab. cymathoe Photo © Marc Heath |
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Photo © Jules Cross 07-Jun-2008 |
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Photo © Jules Cross 11-Jun-2007 |
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Photo © Elliott Staley 13-Jun-2009 |
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Eggs are pale green when first laid, but soon turn pale yellow in colour. Eggs hatch in around 2 weeks.
On hatching, newly-emerged larvae eat their eggshells before moving together to the foodplant, where they spin a loose silk web on which they bask and from which they feed. The larvae eventually divide into smaller groups, creating new webs as required, before ultimately separating to find a curled up dead leaf within which to hibernate, although they may be found together in twos and threes. The larvae emerge in the spring and recommence feeding and can be seen basking in full sun as they absorb the sun's rays, when their higher body temperature aids digestion. There are 5 moults in total.
The pupa is formed among ground debris, attached upside-down to a dead leaf or twig. This stage lasts around 2 weeks.
The Glanville Fritillary and Heath Fritillary are easily distinguished in the UK since the Glanville Fritillary is generally only found on the Isle of Wight, with a small colony on the mainland. Heath Fritillary do not occur here. Where these 2 species do occur together on the continent, they are most easily distinguished from their undersides. The Glanville Fritillary has several spots on the underside that are not present in the Heath Fritillary.
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| Glanville Fritillary |
Heath Fritillary |
Click here to see the distribution of this species overlaid with specific site information. Alternatively, select one of the sites listed below.
This butterfly has suffered a long-term decline and requires targeted habitat management. This species continues to be a priority species for conservation efforts. From The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland and the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) (2007 review).
The following links provide additional information on this butterfly.
The species description provided here has been derived from the author's own observations and the information contained in the following works:
- A Natural History of British Butterflies, by F.W.Frohawk.
- British and Irish Butterflies, by Adrian M. Riley
- South's British Butterflies, by T.G.Howarth (which is based extensively on the classic work, "The Butterflies of the British Isles", by Richard South).
- The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington.
- The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, by Jim Asher, Martin Warren, Richard Fox, Paul Harding, Gail Jeffcoate, Stephen Jeffcoate.
- The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 7 (1) Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae (the Butterflies), by A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath (editors).
- The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Richard Fox, Jim Asher, Tom Brereton, David Roy and Martin Warren.
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