Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

About the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly

The Gulf Fritillary is one of the most familiar butterflies in Texas - a blaze of deep orange patterned with black that becomes unmistakable the moment it closes its wings, revealing an underside spangled with elongated silver spots that flash like polished metal in the sun.

Despite the name it is not a true fritillary but a longwing, kin to the tropical heliconians, with the group's long forewings and buoyant, gliding flight. Its caterpillars - orange with branching black spines - feed on passionvine, absorbing the plant's defensive chemicals and making themselves distasteful in the bargain.

Wherever passionvine grows, Gulf Fritillaries follow: suburban gardens, fencerows, woodland edges, and vacant lots across the state. In fall the species stages impressive southbound movements along the Texas coast, streaming toward frost-free wintering grounds by the thousands on some days.

Fast-breeding and nearly ever-present through the warm months, the Gulf Fritillary is often the first butterfly a Texas kid learns - and the silver-spangled underside keeps it from ever becoming boring to photograph.