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The World of Minibeasts

Aristocrats -  This Way or That Way: The Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

 

Typical: a brown network pattern on an orange background On this spruce a fritillary is warming in the sun. Fritillaries form a group of their own within the family of aristocrats. Their common feature are wings that are orange on their upper side and have a brown network pattern. 

The network pattern may vary slightly within a species or, between different species, may look very much alike. This makes it difficult to distinguish fritillary species. Anyway, we did not manage to figure out what species the picture shows.   

The undersides of fritillary wings are much more colourful than are the uppersides. By their underside wing patterns, fritillaries can easily be identified. This species is the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Clossiana selene). 

The hind-wing of this species shows a characteristic pattern, that can be recognized "on the spot": 

At its base, there is a row of three white cells, followed by a row of five orange cells. The second cell has a big blackish-brown spot. This pattern is unique amongst the fritillaries and identifies the Small Pearl-bordered Fritiallry.

To be recognized "on the spot"

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Photographs by José Verkest, Text by Maria Pfeifer