Gulf Fritillary - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 2½ - 3¾ inches (6.3 - 9.5 cm) UPPERSIDE (dorsal) Bright orange with variable black markings; three black-encircled white dots on upper forewing edge. Female somewhat darker and more heavily marked. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Brown; forewing with orange at base; many elongated, iridescent silver spots. Forewings long and pointed.

ID Tip: Elongated silver spots on underside are distinctive.

Egg: Yellowish; ribbed; oblong in shape. Laid singly on leaves and tendrils of host plant (or nearby).

Caterpillar: Tawny orange; greenish longitudinal stripes; rows of long, black, branched spines. Head orange with black patches; two long black horns on top.

Chrysalis: Mottled beige; elongated, curved. Resembles a dead, curled leaf.

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Gulf Fritillaries are not true fritillaries. They are classified as longwings (or heliconians). Their forewings are not as elongated as some members of the family, but the classic shape is evident when they bask with outstretched wings.

Like the other longwings, Guld Fritillaries use passion flowers (maypops) as their caterpillar hosts. These plants vigorously defend themselves against hungry caterpillars. Their leaves contain cyanogenic glycosides, but fritillary caterpillars adapted to their lethal attributes long ago and sequester them to use in their own defense against birds and lizards--a toxicity they advertise with shiny orange and black warning colors. Ants prey on butterfly eggs, and passion flowers developed nectar glands at their leaf bases that attract ants by rewarding them with sweet liquid. Gulf Fritillaries adjusted by frequently bypassing leaves to lay eggs on tendrils or even nearby plants to safely avoid ants. Despite their defenses, passion flowers are often eaten to the ground by voracious Gulf Fritillary caterpillars.

Gulf Fritillaries are not tolerant of freezing weather, so each year they recolonize most of Alabama after wintering further south. By late summer, they are common butterflies in virtually every county. When day lengths shorten in the fall, massive flights occur as northern butterflies travel through Alabama to the Gulf coast and southward into Florida.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

200 - St. Clair - 9/29/2016
190 - Mobile - 10/14/2017
151 - Jefferson - 9/14/2019

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
9	6	2	1	5			8	4	2		4	1	2	3	4	11	35	18	20	30	49	52	84	180	192	181	419	364	554	649	1338	1245	1197	1225	1564	1178	1446	556	818	426	221	162	127	75	59	46	54

Open, scrubby areas including fields, disturbed sites, sandhills, roadsides, utility right-of-ways, meadows, pastures, parks, and suburban gardens.

Gulf Fritillary (*Dione incarnata*)

County

© Paulette Ogard

Meadow with nectar sources

Various passion flowers (Passiflora spp.) are used throughout the range.

The following have been documented in Alabama:

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Plant passion flowers in your yard, and fritillaries will come! Including these vines in the landscape will support Gulf and Variegated Fritillary caterpillars. Purple Passion Flower (Maypop) grows in full sun, while the more diminutive Yellow Passion Flower grows in shady areas. These fast-growing vines need supporting structures like an arbor or fence. They tend to sprout near the original planting location, and these shoots may be potted up and shared with friends. By late summer, be prepared for lots of caterpillars: female fritillaries lay their eggs singly but will return to the same plant repeatedly if there are no others in the vicinity. Caterpillars will eat all parts of the plant including fruits.

Nearby nectar sources are also important: fall blooming flowers such as gayfeathers/blazing stars (Liatris spp.), Blue Mistflower (Conaclinium coelestinum), and asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) are nectar magnets for many butterflies, including Gulf Fritillaries.

Gulf Fritillary (Dione incarnata) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.