Butterflies of the Adirondack Mountains:
Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene)

Butterflies of the Adirondacks: Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) in the Paul Smiths VIC Butterfly House (19 June 2012)

This page is no longer being updated.  For an updated version of this material, see: Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene).

The Silver-bordered Fritillary (Boloria selene) is an orange and black butterfly that may be seen in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York in summer. It is a member of the Brushfoot family. ^[1] This butterfly is one of the lesser fritillaries. ^{[2] [3]} It is noticeably smaller than the other fritillaries seen at the Paul Smiths VIC Native Species Butterfly House. ^[4] Some sources refer to it as the Silver Meadow Fritillary,^[5] while others refer to it as the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary. ^[6] This butterfly reportedly is named after Selene, a lunar deity in Greek mythology. ^[7]

From above, the Silver-Bordered Fritillary is orange with black markings. The black margins enclose pale orange spots. ^{[8] [9]} From below, this butterfly has a silver border along both outer wing margins. ^[10] It also has four rows of metallic silver spots. ^[11] The wing span of the Silver-bordered Fritillary is about 1.6 inches. ^[12]

Male Silver-bordered Fritillaries patrol wet areas for females, ^[13] who lay their eggs singly near host plants. ^[14] Caterpillars feed on the leaves of violets. ^{[15] [16] [17]} Adult butterflies consume nectar from flowers such as goldenrod and black-eyed susans. ^[18]

The range of the Silver-bordered Fritillary extends from Alaska east to Newfoundland and south to Oregon, New Mexico, Illinois, and North Carolina. ^[19] Silver-bordered Fritillaries prefer wet areas, such as meadows and bog margins, often near wooded areas.^{[20] [21]} It nectars in adjacent fields. ^[22]

In 2012, the Silver-bordered Fritillary was present in the Paul Smiths VIC Native Species Butterfly House in June.^[23]

References

• Susan Grimm Hanley. Interpretive Naturalist, Paul Smith's College Native Species Butterfly House. Species Logbooks.
• Butterflies and Moths of North American. Species Profiles. Sighting records: 6/16/12
• Government of Canada. Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility. SpeciesBank.
• Massachusetts Butterfly Club. Massachusetts Butterfly Species List.
• ENature. Field Guides.
• Iowa State University. Department of Entomology. BugGuide.
• Ross A. Layberry, Peter W. Hall, and J. Donald Lafontaine. The Butterflies of Canada (University of Toronto Press, 1998), pp. 176-177, Plate 14.
• National Audubon Society. Field Guide to Butterflies (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981), pp. 550-560.
• Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America (Houghton Mifflin, 2003), pp. 170-171.
• Paul A. Opler. A Field Guide to Eastern Butterflies (The Peterson Field Guide Series, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992,1998), pp. 78-79, 243.
• Jeffrey Glassberg. Butterflies of North America (Michael Friedman Publishing, 2002), pp. 130-131.
• James A. Scott. The Butterflies of North America. A Natural History and Field Guide (Stanford University Press, 1986), pp. 318-319.
• Jeffrey Glassberg. Butterflies through Binoculars. The East. A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Eastern North America (Oxford University Press, 1999), p. 107-108, Plate 29.
• Paul A. Opler and George O. Krizek. Butterflies East of the Great Plains: An Illustrated Natural History (The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1984), pp. 137, Plate 23.
• Rick Cech and Guy Tudor. Butterflies of the East Coast. An Observer's Guide (Princeton University Press, 2005), p. 167.
• David Carter. Butterflies and Moths (Dorling Kindersley, Inc., 1992), p. 134.
• Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock, and Jeffrey Glassberg. Caterpillars in the Field and Garden. A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America (Oxford University Press, 2005), pp. 82-83.