Bug FAQDark Green Fritillary
Argynnis aglaja · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Dark Green Fritillary Butterfly
The dark green fritillary has a fiery reddish-yellow upper side with a duller basal area in males and a consistent pattern of a black margin, thin black arcs, a straight central row of dots and six thin transverse black bands. It lives across the Palearctic, from Europe and Morocco through Iran, Siberia, Central Asia, China, Korea to Japan. Adults sip nectar from common knapweed, marsh thistle, devil's-bit scabious and field scabious, while newly hatched caterpillars eat their eggshell and then hibernate. Eggs are laid in high summer on or near violets; in spring the larvae emerge, feed on several violet species, pupate in May and the butterflies emerge a few weeks later. It can be confused with the Niobe fritillary or high brown fritillary, but those have rows of ocelli on the margin, which the dark green fritillary lacks.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side is fiery reddish-yellow, duller at the base in males, with a black margin, thin black marginal arcs, a straight central row of dots and six thin transverse black bands.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occupies a wide range throughout the Palearctic region.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults feed on nectar from common knapweed, marsh thistle, devil's-bit scabious and field scabious. Newly hatched caterpillars eat their eggshell before entering hibernation.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
In high summer the butterfly lays eggs on or near violet plants. In spring the larvae emerge, feed on common dog-violet, marsh dog violet and heath dog violet, then pupate in May and emerge as adults a few weeks later.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Eggs are laid in the high summer months.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When does the dark green fritillary lay its eggs?
It lays its eggs in the high summer, usually on or near violet plants.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the caterpillars eat after they hatch?
After eating their eggshell, the caterpillars hibernate and later feed on various violet species such as common dog-violet, marsh dog violet and heath dog violet.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I tell this fritillary apart from similar species?
It lacks the row of ocelli on the wing margin that is present in the Niobe fritillary and high brown fritillary.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do adult dark green fritillaries visit?
Adults sip nectar from common knapweed, marsh thistle, devil's-bit scabious and field scabious.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_green_fritillary
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.