Silver-washed Fritillary

Name: Silver-washed Fritillary

Scientific name: Argynnis paphia

Category: Minibeasts

Nature Stars: 60

What are nature stars?

About: A large butterfly, pale orange with an intricate pattern of black spots and lines on the upper wings. The underside of the rear wing is washed lime green and pink, with silvery streaks running across the wing. The wingspan is about 7.5 cm. Adults are on the wing through the summer from late June to the end of August. They live in large broad-leaved woodlands, where the caterpillars feed on violets.

How to identify: Fritillaries are one of the trickier groups of butterflies to identify. Told from the other large fritillaries by the underwing pattern. The male also has four very broad black stripes across the front wings.

Where: Found in woodlands in southern England.

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 10
• Agility: 70
• Rarity: 60
• Cute factor: 50
• Traveller: 50

Fantastic fact: Adults particularly like feeding and sunbathing on brambles, although they will also sometimes visit buddleia bushes in large gardens.

Photograph credit: Keith Warmington/www.warmies.co.uk