Mountain Fritillary (Boloria napaea [Hoffmansegg])
Wing span: 1 3/8 - 1 7/8 inches (3.5 - 4.8 cm).
Identification: Outer margin of hindwing arched. Upperside of male orange with dark wing bases and delicate markings; female cream with heavy dark pattern. Underside of hindwing tan with faint markings.
Life history: Males patrol close to the ground during the day. Females lay eggs singly near host plants. Two years are needed to complete development from egg to adult; caterpillars hibernate their first and second winters.
Flight: One brood from late June-early August.
Caterpillar hosts: False bistort (Polygonum bistortoides) and alpine smartweed (P. viviparum).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Moist tundra and high mountain meadows.
Range: Holarctic. Alaska and Northwest Territory, western Yukon, northwestern British Columbia. Isolated populations in Canadian Rockies and Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
