eButterfly Spotlight – Arctic (Purple) Fritillary

From Gary in Edmonton, Alberta.

Today’s butterfly was a surprise for me in more ways than one.  I ventured  out to the little bog just south of Sherwood Park in hopes of finding  a Giant Sulphur.  No sulphurs, but on the edge of the bog a population of fresh Boloria freija aka Freija fritillarys!  The second surprise was when I got home and took a closer look and found they are in fact not Freija fritillaries, but Purple fritillaries, Boloria chariclea. Who knew!

Boloria chariclea ventral view

Boloria chariclea 1 dorsal

 

A number of the chariclea were nectaring at purple Fall asters just outside the bog, along with hordes of European Skippers and oodles of Northern Pearl Crescents. I slogged through the bog…which is boggier than usual this wet summer…in hopes of finding a Giant sulphur but  saw almost nothing therein..except for a another chariclea. I have slogged this bog on numerous occasions in the past…the footing on the hummocks is always atrocious and today, for the first time, I managed to miss-step and do a 180 into the soggy soggy boggy.  Shocking, and yet refreshing….

A fine day all around and rewarded once again for going bugging and bogging…