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Speyeria mormonia Scudder, 1872
Greater Fritillaries; Mormon Fritillary
Family: Nymphalidae (Brushfoots)
Species account authors: Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard.
Extracted from Butterflies of British Columbia.
Introduction to the Lepidoptera of BC
Introduction to the Butterflies of BC
The Families of Lepidoptera of BC

Photograph

© Norbert Kondla     (Photo ID #8269)

Map

Click on map to view a larger version of this map.
Distribution of Speyeria mormonia in British Columbia.
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Source: Butterflies of British Columbia by Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard © Royal BC Museum

Species Information


Adult

The Mormon Fritillary is our smallest fritillary. When silvered, the ventral hindwings appear green, but it is a green not confused with that of the Callippe Fritillary. When unsilvered, the ventral hindwings appear brown but have a distinctive arrangement of the pattern that is not easily confused with that of other fritillaries.

Immature Stages

The mature larva is black. The body is covered with protuberances that bear spines. There are two mid-dorsal narrow yellow stripes. The spines are shorter than those of other Speyeria larvae that have the narrow yellow stripes.

Subspecies

The unsilvered subspecies, Bischoff's Fritillary, S.m. bischoffii (W.H. Edwards, 1870) (TL: Sitka, AK), is found in extreme northwestern BC and the adjacent Alaska panhandle. In most of the rest of the species' range in BC is found a predominantly silvered subspecies, the Opis Fritillary, S.m. opis (W.H. Edwards, 1874) (TL: Bald Mt. [between Likely and Barkerville], BC) [= jesmondensis dos Passos & Grey, 1947, TL: Jesmond, BC; and washingtonia (Barnes & McDunnough, 1913), TL: Paradise Valley, Mt. Rainier, WA]. In the extreme south of the West Kootenay, another unsilvered subspecies, the Erinna Fritillary, S.m. erinna (W.H. Edwards, 1883) (TL: Spokane Falls, WA), is found.

Genus Description


The genus Speyeria is named for the German lepidopterist Adolph Speyer (1812-92). The name "greater fritillaries" refers to the large size of the species in this genus, in contrast to the lesser fritillaries in the genera Boloria and Clossiana.

At least some populations of all species of Speyeria in BC have individuals with silver spots on the ventral hindwing. By contrast, only one species of Clossiana has these silver spots. The genus is entirely Nearctic, with 14 recognized species, 9 of which are found in BC. Two other species, S. coronis (Behr, 1864) and S. egleis (Behr, 1862) occur immediately south of the BC border in Washington or Montana, and might eventually be recorded in the province. Dos Passos and Grey (1947) produced the definitive treatment of the genus. In this genus, and all genera in the subfamily except Boloria and Clossiana, the aedeagus is open at the proximal end. Dos Passos and Grey (1947) reduced the number of recognized species from more than 100 species to 13 species, and reduced the other species names to either subspecies or synonyms. The dos Passos and Grey paper, Gunder (1929b), Davenport (1941), and Nabokov (1949) set the standard for our modern species concepts for North American butterflies. P.A. Hammond (pers. comm.) has provided the information on the biology and appearance of the larvae.

Biology


The larval habitat of the Mormon Fritillary occurs at higher elevations than that of other Speyeria species, so the adult flight is the latest of any BC fritillary. The Mormon Fritillary flies from mid-July to late August. If snowmelt is delayed, it can fly until early September. Eggs are laid at the base of the larval foodplant, Viola sp. They hatch and the first instar larvae overwinter. Larvae begin feeding the following spring, as soon as the foodplant has leafed out.

Habitat


The Mormon Fritillary is found commonly throughout BC east of the crest of the Cascade and Coast mountains, but has not been recorded in the northeastern lowlands. In the south it is usually found above 1,250 m, with the males hilltopping to 2,300 m.

Distribution

Distribution

The Mormon Fritillary ranges from southeastern AK east through BC to MB and western MN. It occurs south to central CA and northern NM, with disjunct populations in the White Mountains of AZ.

Status Information

Scientific NameOrigin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
Speyeria mormoniaNativeS5YellowNot Listed
Speyeria mormonia bischoffiiNativeS5YellowNot Listed
Speyeria mormonia erinnaNativeS1S2RedNot Listed
Speyeria mormonia eurynomeNativeS1S3YellowNot Listed
Speyeria mormonia opisNativeS5YellowNot Listed



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