Callippe Fritillary

Not of concern.

One flight per year, peaking from late June to mid July.

A western species, occuring from southern BC to southern MB, south to Baja California, MEX and CO (Scott 1986).

This is a relatively large Speyeria (wingspan 56 - 53 mm), with a pale-greenish, washed-out underside. Edwards' Fritillary can be similar, but is slightly larger and has a concave forewing margin. The Mormon Fritillary also often has a pale green underside (particularly prairie populations), but it is much smaller (40 - 50 mm). In Callippe the underside silver spots show through as slightly paler orbs on the upperside. Subspecies calgariana, described from the vicinity of Calgary, occurs on the Alberta prairies, while populations from the Crowsnest Pass more closely resemble subspecies semivirida (Bird et al. 1995).

Dry or sandy prairie grasslands, occasional in the foothills and parkland.

The tan-coloured eggs are laid near dried-up violets, where fresh leaves for larvae to feed on will appear in the spring (Scott 1986). The mature larvae are very similar to S. zerene, being predominantly black with spiny protuberances (Scott 1986). Callippe males patrol topographical prominences in search of females (Scott 1986).

Blue Prairie Violet is the larval foodplant in Alberta (Bird et al. 1998). Adults nectar at alfalfa, gailardia, and thistles (Bird et al. 1998, Hooper 1973).