Titania's Fritillary

Clossiana titania

Switzerland, July 2005

Switzerland, July 2006

Titania's fritillary is common near me in the Alps from the end of June through until August. It is a strikingly large fritillary for the genus (Clossiana) and has a bold flight. The upperside is well marked, with what look like a row of little chess pawns on the hindwing, making for very easy identification. The underside, especially in the Swiss form, is beautifully patterned in shades of brown, violet and yellow, still with the row of pawns around the edge. Normally it is difficult to see this patterning because the butterfly usually has its wings flat out in the sun. However, when the weather is cooler or towards evening the butterfly rests conspicuously on plants with the wings folded above the back, as in the last two pictures. It is easy to spot Titania's fritillaries like this even when they are motionless - in fact, when the clouds come over it is quite fun to survey the vegetation and see how many you can pick out.