Which Fritillary??

[jdal]

Can anyone ID this?


On Holy Island (Northumberland), on the flat ground between the lines of dunes. The size can be gauged by the clover, I'd have thought about 50mm wintip to wingtip.

Dark Green Fritillary was my try at it, but why dark green?

[Wee man]

Re: Which Fritillary??

Just by chance I bought the Gardeners World magazine and in it is a butterfly chart your specimen looks like the Silver-washed Fritillary to me but I could be wrong and someone in the know will come along and correct me..

[art frames]

Re: Which Fritillary??

Yes, It is a dark green. The underside is the origin of the dark green - it is an olive green with silver discs.

The silver washed frits are also about but they are quite different. Sorry. Can post pictures if you want to see.

Peter

[Wee man]

Re: Which Fritillary??

No need I have colour blindness problems so the colours go right over my head the illustration in the guide looked similiar and no other fritillaries were shown.

[Welshlansdcaper]

Re: Which Fritillary??

This is a Pearl-bordered Fritillary. We have these in our local park.

Mike

[David Morison]

Re: Which Fritillary??

Definitely Dark Green, more common in the North. Here's one I took in Scotland last year:




David

[jdal]

Re: Which Fritillary??

Ah, an academic disagreement. Lovely

Here's a partial view of the underside:


Based on this site did think a Small Pearl at first, then I looked at the Pearl, but I thougt the Dark Green for 3 reasons:
1. It's a bit large for a Pearl
2. Wrong habitat, this was on windswept grassland betweem dunes with not a tree for miles.
3. The markings on the upperside of the wings are very close to the Dark Green, much more so than the Pearl.

(ps - I just read the blurb for Lindisfarne Nature Reserve and it's got a picture of the Dark Green, so I guess that nails it!)