Heath fritillary

Heath fritillaries have a wingspan of 39–47 mm.[2] The upperside is predominantly dark brown and orange brown, with the orange-brown spots delineated by dark brown (along and across the wing veins); there is a white fringe to the wings through which the dark brown extends. The upperside of the body is a similar dark brown to the colour on the wing, and the base of both wings is dark brown. The underside shows bands of red and (off-)white, again with each vein dark brown and each colour delineated by dark brown. The pattern of white spots at the base of the hindwing (visible at rest) is diagnostic for identification.

These wing patterns are very similar to the appearance of Melitaea cinxia. However, the dark brown bands on underside of the wings are more distinct in the heath fritillary than in M. cinxia.

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  Male
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  Male underside
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  Female
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  Female underside

The heath fritillary ranges throughout the Palaearctic region from western Europe to Japan.[2] In Europe, it is absent from Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, southern Portugal, southern Spain, the Mediterranean islands and southern Greece.[3]

In the UK, it is restricted to Cornwall and Devon grasslands (abandoned hay meadows); Exmoor (heathland); and Kent and Essex (coppiced woodland on acid soils).[4] The populations in Essex are the result of reintroductions,[2] and further reintroductions are ongoing in various other parts of the UK.[5] In the late 1990s, the species was estimated to occupy just 0.2% within the 10-km grid squares over the whole of its UK range.[6]

Its altitudinal range is from sea level to 2600 m.[3]

Heath fritillary is not listed on the IUCN Red List,[7] suggesting that globally it is not considered threatened. In the UK, however, the species was "considered to be the most endangered British butterfly" after a nationwide survey in 1980 found only 31 surviving colonies. Consequently, it was given protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.[2] Despite subsequent widespread efforts to conserve and manage the species' habitats, it has continued to decline: distribution has declined 25% since the 1970s, and abundance-wise it declined by 46% in the 10 years 1995–2004.[8] Woodland sites in Kent and Essex are actively managed (coppiced) for the conservation of this species. It has been a "high priority" species in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan since 1995 and has its own Species Action Plan.[9]

Heath fritillary is also on the "Red List" in Germany.[10]

However, the species is considered of "least concern" on a European scale.[11]

Within Europe, the heath fritillary occupies a diversity of grassy, flowery habitats—dry or damp, upland or lowland, with or without shrubs or trees, including woodland clearings and heathland.[3][12]

More specifically, in England, this species occupies three distinct habitats:[1][2][4]

• Unimproved grassland with abundant short (5–15 cm) or sparse swards of ribwort plantain or germander speedwell (or both) on stony soils – sometimes in the form of abandoned hay meadows
• Sheltered heathland with common cow-wheat scattered among bilberry-dominated vegetation – valleys with mineral soils
• Coppiced woodland (especially in clearings) with common cow-wheat on acid soils.

In France, this species also occurs on unimproved hay meadows and pastures.[2]

Heath fritillaries typically fly close to the ground, with characteristic "flits" and glides. Colonies tend to be compact, centred on favoured breeding areas. Heath fritillaries are highly sedentary for the most part, adults rarely moving more than 100 m; however, some have been recorded dispersing up to 2 km. For a species of often short-lived habitats, it has remarkably limited colonizing ability; suitable habitats over 600 m from an existing colony are colonized slowly.[1]

In the UK, the following species are used:[2]

Ribwort plantain—one of the two main food plants on grassland

• Common cow-wheat (Melampyrum pratense) – the only food plant in woodland, and principal food plant on heathland
• Common foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) – secondary food plant on heathland
• Ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) – major food plant on grassland
• Germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) – major food plant on grassland
• Greater plantain (Plantago major) – secondary food plant
• Ivy-leaved speedwell (Veronica hederifolia) – secondary food plant
• Thyme-leaved speedwell (Veronica serpyllifolia) – secondary food plant
• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) – secondary food plant

Additional host plants used elsewhere in Europe are:[3]

• Alpine plantain (Plantago alpina)
• Mountain speedwell (Veronica montana)
• Heath speedwell (Veronica officinalis)
• Spiked speedwell (Veronica spicata)
• Small cow-wheat (Melampyrum sylvaticum)
• Rusty foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea)
• Yellow foxglove (Digitalis lutea)
• Common toadflax (Linaria vulgaris)

Up to eight subspecies are recognized in Europe:[3][16]

• M. a. athalia – from the Atlantic coast to the Bosphorus (Turkey) (altitude 0–2200 m), excluding the ranges of the following subspecies
• M. a. norvegica Aurivillius 1888 – Fennoscandia (altitude 0–800 m)
• M. a. celadussa Frühstorfer 1910 – northern Iberia and the Sierra Nevada, southern France, southern Switzerland, Italy (including Sicily) (altitude 0–2600 m)

• The transitional zone between subspecies athalia and celadussa is broad—up to 150 km in places

• M. a. dictynnoides (Hormuzaki 1898) – south-west Europe?
• M. a. lucifuga (Fruhstorfer 1917) – south-east Europe
• M. a. reticulata Higgins 1955 – Altai
• M. a. baikalensis (Bremer 1961) – southern Siberia to Amur?
• M. a. hyperborea Dubatolov 1997 – Magadan, Kamchatka

Many forms and subspecies of M. a. athalia have been described, but are best regarded as "ecological variants" and intermediates in clinal variation.[3] Bulgaria has f. boris Frühstorfer, with heavier marginal borders, alongside the typical nominate form.[3]

In central Sweden and Finland, M. a. norvegica f. lachares Frühstorfer has finer black markings; transitional forms between f. lachares and typical M. a. norvegica occur in southern Sweden.[3]

Melitaea athalia celadussa

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  ♂
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  ♂ △
• 
  ♀
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  ♀ △

Melitaea athalia lachares

• 
  M. a. lachares, Estonia

In Portugal and north-west Spain, M. a. celadussa f. biedermanni Querci is larger than typical M. a. celadussa, with finer black lines in the outer half of the wing, but a thicker discal line; transitional forms occur in central west Spain. In Sierra Nevada, f. nevadensis Verity is golden yellow with fine black markings (it is also univoltine, whereas typical M. a. celadussa is bivoltine at low altitude). In "southern" Europe, f. tenuicola Verity occurs in late broods—it is small and its black markings reduced.[3]

• Barnett, L.K.; Warren, M.S. (1995), Species Action Plan: Heath Fritillary Mellicta athalia, East Lulworth, UK: Butterfly Conservation
• Bundesamt für Naturschutz (1998), Rote Liste gefährdeter Tiere Deutschlands (in German), Münster, Germany: Landwirtschaftsverlag, ISBN 978-3-89624-110-8
• Heath Fritillary Melitaea athalia factsheet (PDF), East Lulworth, UK: Butterfly Conservation, n.d.
• Fox, R.; Warren, M.S.; Asher, J.; Brereton, T.M.; Roy, D.B. (2007), The State of Britain's Butterflies 2007 (PDF), East Lulworth, UK: Butterfly Conservation
• Chandler, D. (September 2005). "The fritillaries of Herts & Middlesex in the summer of 2005". Butterfly Conservation Hertfordshire and Middlesex Branch Newsletter. Vol. 43. pp. 1–3.
• Cowley, M.J.R.; Thomas, C.D.; Thomas, J.A.; Warren, M.S. (1999), "Flight areas of British butterflies: assessing species status and decline", Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B, 266 (1428): 1587–1592, doi:10.1098/rspb.1999.0819, PMC 1690168
• Fuller, R.J.; Warren, M.S. (1993), Coppiced Woodlands: Their Management for Wildlife (2nd ed.), JNCC
• "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species", IUCN, 2006, retrieved 15 June 2007
• Savela, Markku (2010), Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms, retrieved 30 April 2010
• Tolman, T.; Lewington, R. (1997). Collins Field Guide: Butterflies of Britain & Europe. London, UK: HarperCollins Publishers. pp. 174–176.
• Tomlinson, D.; Still, R. (2002), Britain's Butterflies, Old Basing, UK: WildGuides, pp. 124–125
• van Swaay, C. (2010), European Red List of Butterflies, Luxemburg: Publications Office of the European Union
• Warren, M.S.; Emmet, A.M. (1990), "Mellicta athalia (Rottemburg)", in Emmet, A.M.; J., Heath; et al. (eds.), The Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland. The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, vol. 7 part 1 (Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae), Colchester, UK: Harley Books, pp. 241–243
• Whalley, P. (1981), The Mitchell Beazley Pocket Guide to Butterflies, London: Mitchell Beazley, p. 77

Wikispecies has information related to Melitaea athalia.

• Media related to Melitaea athalia at Wikimedia Commons
• UK Butterflies – Heath fritillary entry, including images of life stages
• The Independent "Butterflies of the British Isles" – Heath fritillary Melitaea athalia