Southern heath fritillary
The southern heath fritillary is a golden yellow or orange butterfly with fine black markings. It looks almost exactly like its cousin, the heath fritillary. Scientists only found out it was a different species by looking at its genes.
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Fun facts
Early in the 2000s, studies of its DNA showed that it is its own species.
Where it meets its cousin in France and Italy, there is a wide zone with butterflies that look like a mix of both.
Its caterpillars eat many different plants, including foxglove and snapdragon.
Scientists have called it by three different names.
Most asked questions about Southern heath fritillary
?How big is the southern heath fritillary?
Its wings are about 40 millimetres across.
?How can you tell it from the heath fritillary?
By eye it is almost impossible. Scientists tell them apart by their DNA and tiny body parts.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Melitaea celadussa
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Melitaea nevadensis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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