Bug FAQEdwards's Fritillary
Speyeria edwardsii · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
Also called: Edwards' Fritillary
Edwards's fritillary is a medium-large butterfly with a wingspan of about 6 to 9 cm. It lives across western Canada down to northern New Mexico and feeds as a caterpillar on the plant Viola nuttallii. It can be confused with the great spangled fritillary and the Callippe fritillary.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper side of the wings is mostly orange with dark-brown bars. The wing edges are dark, showing lighter circles followed by darker crescents. The underside is yellowish and covered with many silvery spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from about 60 to 86 mm (2.4 to 3.4 in).
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on the plant Viola nuttallii.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range includes western Canada down into the northern United States, reaching as far south as New Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It may be mistaken for the great spanged fritillary (S. cybele) or the Callippe fritillary (S. callippe).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Utah.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What does Edwards's fritillary look like?
It is orange on top with dark brown bars, dark wing margins with light circles and dark crescents, and a yellowish underside dotted with silvery spots.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is Edwards's fritillary found?
It occurs from Alberta east to Manitoba and southward to northern New Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Which butterflies look similar to Edwards's fritillary?
It can be confused with the great spanged fritillary and the Callippe fritillary.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speyeria_edwardsii
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.