Mormon Fritillary (Speyeria mormonia [Boisduval])
Wing span: 1 1/2 - 2 3/8 inches (3.8 - 6.1 cm).
Identification: Small, with large rounded antennal clubs. Upperside tawny to orange-brown; male with no black scales on veins. Underside of hindwing orange-brown; base sometimes slightly darker or greenish. Spots are usually silvered.
Life history: Males patrol near the ground in open areas for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaf litter near host plants. Caterpillars hatch but do not feed, hibernating until spring when they eat the host leaves.
Flight: One flight from June-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Violets including Viola adunca, V. nuttallii, V. nephrophylla, and V. palustris.
Adult food: Nectar from a variety of flowers including goldenrod.
Habitat: Mountain meadows and fell-fields, moist prairie valleys, subarctic forest openings.
Range: Western mountains from southern Alaska south and east to Manitoba and the Dakotas; south to central California, eastern Nevada, southeastern Arizona, and northern New Mexico.
