Papilio cinxia
| Melitaea cinxia | |
|---|---|
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| Upperside | |
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| Underside | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Melitaea |
| Species: | M. cinxia |
| Binomial name | |
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Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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| Melitaea cinxia | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Upperside | |
|
|
| Underside | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Melitaea |
| Species: | M. cinxia |
| Binomial name | |
|
Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is named for the naturalist who discovered it and the checkerboard pattern on its wings. These butterflies live mostly in Europe, especially Finland, and across temperate Asia.
It has been discovered that this butterfly only mates one time in June or July and lays its eggs. It does not provide any protection to these eggs or care for the offspring. As adults, the Glanville fritillaries are short lived; they spend most of their lives as caterpillars. As caterpillars, Glanville fritillaries enter a stage of diapause, which is a period of suspended development, during the winter time.
The spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain are the Glanville fritillary's preferred plants to lay eggs and to eat as larvae. Interestingly female butterflies will show a preference for one plant species over the other when deciding where to lay their eggs, but the caterpillars have no preference once they hatch. After entering the adult phase the fritillaries feed on nectar of the spiked speedwell and ribwort plantain, among others.
This species of butterfly is at risk of population decline because it is not a migratory species. Though widespread, populations in Finland are at risk because they are not able to travel great distances as easily as other species, such as monarchs, if their environment should suddenly become unsuitable.
This species of butterfly is uniquely named in that its common name is not "butterfly", but "fritillary". The word fritillary refers to the checkered pattern of the butterfly's wings, which comes from the Latin word fritillus which means "dicebox". The "Glanville" piece of this butterfly's name comes from the naturalist who discovered it, Lady Eleanor Glanville. Lady Eleanor Glanville was an eccentric 17th- and 18th-century English butterfly enthusiast – a very unusual occupation for a woman at that time. She was the first to capture British specimens in Lincolnshire during the 1690s. A contemporary wrote
This fly took its name from the ingenious Lady Glanvil, whose memory had like to have suffered for her curiosity. Some relations that was disappointed by her Will, attempted to let it aside by Acts of Lunacy, for they suggested that none but those who were deprived of their senses, would go in Pursuit of butterflies.
The Glanville fritillary is found across Europe and temperate Asia. It is most commonly found on the Åland Islands of Finland, which host a network of about 4,000 dry meadows, the fritillary's ideal habitat. These butterflies commonly inhabit open grassland at an elevation of 0–2,000 metres (0–6,562 ft) above sea level.
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Wikipedia