# Spotted Fritillary

*Melitaea didyma*

Its caterpillars accumulate bitter chemicals from their food plants, making them distasteful to hungry birds.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Nymphalidae › Melitaea
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** grassland
- **Habitat:** Dry, flowery meadows, sunny hillsides, steppes, and forest clearings.
- **Diet:** Adults drink nectar from thistles and knapweeds; larvae feed on plantains, toadflax, and speedwells.
- **Range:** Southern Europe, Central Europe, North Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, Siberia
- **Size:** Wingspan of 35 to 50 mm.
- **Lifespan:** 10 to 20 days (as an adult); 1 year total lifecycle.
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Habitat fragmentation, intensive mowing, pesticide use, and land development.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. You can observe this butterfly from a close distance without any risk. Avoid touching its wings, as the delicate scales can easily be damaged, hindering its flight.

## About

Melitaea didyma , the spotted fritillary or red-band fritillary , is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/8b966fbf-1871-40e0-913f-f07f527fb30d
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/133295
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melitaea didyma
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/294675887/medium.jpg (SteveM4560, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.