Speyeria atlantis explained

Speyeria atlantis, the Atlantis fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae of North America. It is from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador to northern British Columbia, across the northern United States south as far as Colorado and West Virginia.^[1] It resides as far north as James Bay. The species is listed as endangered in Connecticut.^[2]

Its upperside is dark orange with many rows of black markings and black wing margins. Its underside is a light brown with many silvery-white spots. Wingspan ranges from 50-.^[3] ^[4]

The larvae are hosted by violets. Adult foods include common milkweed, mint, mountain laurel, crown vetch, burdock, boneset, ox-eye daisy, spiraea, and virgin's bower.^[5]

Atlantis fritillaries are sensitive to temperature ^[6] ^[7] with population trajectories showing declines in response to climate warming trends.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:^[8]

S. a. atlantis
S. a. canadensis (dos Passos, 1935)
S. a. chitone (Edwards, 1879)
S. a. dodgei (Gunder, 1931)
S. a. beani (Barnes & Benjamin, 1926)
S. a. dennisi dos Passos & Grey, 1947
S. a. dorothea Moeck, 1947
S. a. electa (Edwards, 1878)
S. a. elko Austin, 1983
S. a. greyi (Moeck, 1950)
S. a. hesperis (Edwards, 1864)
S. a. hollandi (F. & R. Chermock, 1940)
S. a. hutchinsi dos Passos & Grey, 1947
S. a. irene (Boisduval, 1869)
S. a. lais (Edwards, 1883)
S. a. lurana dos Passos & Grey, 1945
S. a. nausicaa (Edwards, 1874)
S. a. nikias (Ehrmann, 1917)
S. a. schellbachi Garth, 1949
S. a. tetonia dos Passos & Grey, 1945
S. a. viola dos Passos & Grey, 1945
S. a. wasatchia dos Passos & Grey, 1945

Similar species

Aphrodite fritillary (Speyeria aphrodite)
Great spangled fritillary (Speyeria cybele)
Northwestern fritillary (Speyeria hesperis)

Notes and References

http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Speyeria-atlantis Atlantis Fritillary
http://www.ct.gov/deep/lib/deep/wildlife/pdf_files/nongame/ets15.pdf "Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"
http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/butterflies/species/AtlantisFritillary_e.php Atlantis Fritillary
Jim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
Web site: Atlantis Fritillary Speyeria atlantis (W.H. Edwards, 1862) | Butterflies and Moths of North America.
Geest . Emily A . Baum . Kristen A . 2021-06-01 . Environmental Variables Influencing Five Speyeria (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Species' Potential Distributions of Suitable Habitat in the Eastern United States . Environmental Entomology . 50 . 3 . 633–648 . 10.1093/ee/nvab001 . 33561201 . 0046-225X. free .
Breed . Greg A. . Stichter . Sharon . Crone . Elizabeth E. . 2013 . Climate-driven changes in northeastern US butterfly communities . Nature Climate Change . en . 3 . 2 . 142–145 . 10.1038/nclimate1663 . 2013NatCC...3..142B . 1758-6798.
http://ftp.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/nymphalidae/heliconiinae/speyeria/ "Speyeria Scudder, 1872"