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Fabulous Fritillaries

© Mel. White

Along Breney Common, near Lanlivery in Cormwall, the marsh fritillaries and pearl-bordered fritillaries have emerged from their cocoons. They're dancing, too, up in Finland and fluttering throughout the Americas. So common they're often overlooked and under appreciated, the little fritillary is a global measure of the health of our planet and its wild spaces. What's good for the fritillaries in Europe is good for the fritillaries in the Americas -- and good for people and animals in general.

Since I live in Texas, I think of them mostly as insects of the American prairie, though this really isn't true. Throughout much of England, Scotland, and Europe, the species occurs in damp, open woods with little undergrowth or areas that have recently been cleared and replanted with conifers. In Europe, the species breeds on moors, marshes, and damp grasslands as well as the woodlands -- environments similar to where they flourish here in the United States.

Once you know what fritillaries look like, they're easy to spot no matter where you travel. These charming butterflies look very similar throughout the world. Most have orange or brown wings marked with black spots or zigzags, and the adults' wingspan ranges from from 1 1/2" to about 4". Look for them fluttering about city yards or city parks, as well as hovering near stands of the larval food plant, passion flower vine or (depending on the species) violets.

Butterflies have been declining throughout the world due to a combination of factors that includes bad weather (droughts that kill off larval and nectar plants, cool wet summers, and the effects of El Nino), human activity such as building roads and buildings that use up good prairie land, and farming use of pesticides. Although butterflies can struggle through weather problems (which seldom last more than a year), loss of habitat and pesticide poisoning takes a huge toll. A good example is what's happened to the fritillary populations in Great Britain. In recent years, fritillaries are declining at a rate of 41% per decade in central-southern Britain. They're holding their own in Scotland and Wales, though, and the Cornish wildlife society has been instrumental in helping them recover in Cornwall.

This is where the backyard wildscaper makes a big impact -- in providing usable habitats for them. Each garden is a small resource in a vast suburban area; the more gardens there are in your area, the better chances butterflies have for survival. Areas with larval plants in them are a true haven for butterflies. While adult butterflies can

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