Great Spangled Fritillary
Speyeria cybele
Nymphalidae
A large orange butterfly with silver spangles on the underside of its hind wings — hence the name. Common at midsummer nectar plants, especially milkweeds and Joe-Pye Weed, where you'll see them working the flowers alongside monarchs and swallowtails.
How to spot one.
3.5–4 inch wingspan
Bright orange upper wings with black lines and spots
Silver-white spots on the underside of hind wings — visible when perched
Larger than most other orange butterflies
How it lives.
One brood per year. Females lay eggs on or near violets in late summer; caterpillars hatch, take one meal, then overwinter as tiny larvae in leaf litter. They resume feeding on violet leaves the following spring — which is why leaf litter matters.
The spec sheet.
- Type
- Butterfly
- Active
- June – September
- Native to NJ
- Yes
- Conservation status
- stable
- Family
- Nymphalidae
What it needs.
Plants this species visits, feeds on, or depends on. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.
Violets (Viola spp.)
Larval host
Nectar source
Nectar source
Nectar source
Nectar source
NJ Butterflies · Xerces Society
Others in this group.
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Monarch Butterfly
Danaus plexippus
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Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
Papilio glaucus
New Jersey's state butterfly. Big — up to 5.5 inches — and unmistakable, with yellow wings striped like a tiger. The female comes in two morphs: a yel…
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Black Swallowtail
Papilio polyxenes
The reason your dill and fennel disappear every August. Larvae are the striking green-and-black striped caterpillars with orange spots that any garden…