Violet Fritillary
Clossiana dia
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Switzerland, September 2005

Mating pair, female above, Switzerland, April 2007

The same pair.

Switzerland, July 2006

This was in Switzerland - I forget when

I think this was Hungary, in July 1994

(Partial melanic, Switzerland June 2002)

The violet fritillary (also known as Weaver's fritillary) is a common spring and summer butterfly of unimproved meadowland near woods in much of Europe. It is similar to other Clossiana species but rather smaller and more fluttery. Like the others, it is restless and difficult to photograph, rarely returning to the same spot after being disturbed.

If the underside is seen, the species is unmistakeable, both from the markings (the heavy row of branding outside a violet-tinged band, as well as the bubbly white spots) and also the shape of the hindwing (which is very sharply angled near the leading edge, itself very straight). From the upperside the male is quite like a pearl-bordered fritillary but the female frequently shows excessive dark markings, sometimes to the point of being melanic, and has a quite different jizz.