Silver-washed Fritillary

Silver-washed Fritillary



<module="photo" id="983" maxwidth="250" maxheight="500">
Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) represents a group of butterflies called in Bulgarian Sedefki. They are part of the Nymphalidae family. Their Bulgarian name Sedefki (meaning mother of pearl) comes from a special feature - the underside of the hind wings is covered with the spots of small scales, which have a pearl glow. In some species these spots are opaque or have been replaced by horizontal strips with the same pearl glow.

Silver-washed Fritillary (bg: Venerina Sedefka) is a day time butterfly. It is a forest species, energetic and demonstrates a smooth flight. The wingspan is 60 mm. The upper side of its wings is deep orange-brown with dark spots and lines. In females the wings are greenish- beige on top same and same colour on the front wings beneath. The underside of the hind wings is greenish-orange and beige with pearl lustre. The front wings, compared with other Fritillary are quite elongated.

The species is widespread throughout Europe. In Bulgaria this species can be encountered from May to August. Adult butterflies live about 4 weeks developing a generation. Egg laying in this type of butterfly is particularly interesting - first it's landing on the trunk of a tree at a height of 1.5 meters above the ground and lays one egg, then flies off and stays a few feet higher and lay the next egg until it reaches height of about 4 to 4.5 meters. Silver-washed Fritillary has its eggs laid on all sides of the stem, flying around it as spiral. Then the butterfly flies to the next tree by repeating the same operation. The butterfly fecundity is around 100 eggs. Caterpillars emerge from the eggs in late August. Larvae overwinter and feed on viola leaves.

The species is not endangered.