Bug FAQHeath Fritillary
Melitaea athalia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The heath fritillary is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 39 to 47 mm. It lives across the Palaearctic from western Europe to Japan, favouring heathland, grassland and coppiced woodland. Adults fly from late May to early August, depending on the region.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The upper wings are mainly dark brown and orange-brown, with orange spots edged by dark veins and a white fringe that the dark colour continues into.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 39 to 47 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It inhabits heathland, grassland and coppiced woodland throughout the Palaearctic. In Europe it also uses a wide variety of grassy, flowery sites, from dry uplands to damp lowlands, including clearings in woods and heathland.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Females lay batches of 80 to 150 eggs on the underside of a larval food-plant leaf or on a nearby plant. Caterpillars emerge in early spring, feed a little when warm and spend most of their time basking in the sun.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The caterpillar passes through six instars, reaching 22 to 25 mm as a black sixth-instar with yellow-orange spines and grey-white spots.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Across its range the main flight period runs from mid-May to mid-August. In the UK it flies from the end of May to early July in the southwest and from early June to early August in the southeast.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range covers the whole Palaearctic region, from western Europe across to Japan.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It looks similar to the Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia), but the heath fritillary has darker, more distinct brown bands on the underside of the wings.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When are heath fritillaries active?
Adults are on the wing from late May through early August, with regional variations such as end-May to early July in southwest UK and early June to early August in southeast UK.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heath_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.