Atlantis Fritillary (Speyeria atlantis [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 2 - 2 3/4 inches (5 - 7 cm).
Identification: Quite variable. Upperside orange-brown, darker at base, with black outer margins; male has black scales on veins. Underside of hindwing with basal disk chocolate brown or purplish, hindwing spots always silvered.
Life history: Males patrol during the day in forested areas or along streams. Eggs are laid singly on leaf litter near host plant. Unfed first-stage caterpillars overwinter, emerging in spring to feed on leaves.
Flight: One flight from mid-June to September.
Caterpillar hosts: Violets.
Adult food: Flower nectar including that from common milkweed, mints, mountain laurel, crown vetch, burdock, boneset, ox-eye daisy, spiraea, and virgin's bower.
Habitat: Forest openings, upland pastures, bogs, meadows, and moist canyons.
Range: Maritime Provinces and northeast United States south to West Virginia, west through the Great Lakes region and southern Canada. South in Rocky Mountains to Colorado Front Range.
