Euptoieta hegesia

The Mexican Fritillary (Euptoieta hegesia) is a North and South American butterfly.  It is in the family Nymphalidae.

Description
The upper side of the wings is bright orange.  Most of the hind wing (the bottom wing) does not have black markings.  There is a row of submarginal (submarginal means just inward of the wing edge) black spots on both the fore wing (the top wing) and the hind wing.  The underside of the wings is yellow-orange.  There are no black submarginal spots.Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003).  Butterflies of North America.  Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY.    It has a wingspan of 2.5 to 3 inches.Bob Stewart, Priscilla Brodkin and Hank Brodkin (2001).  Butterflies of Arizona.  West Coast Lady Press, Arcata, CA.  

Similar species
The only similar species in the Mexican Fritillary's range is the Variegated Fritillary (Euptoieta claudia).  The Variegated Fritillary has more black on the upper side of the hind wing.  The underside of the hind wing has a pale band in the center.

Flight period
The Mexican Fritillary may be seen from mid-June to November in Arizona.  It is seen from July to December in Texas.  It is seen year-round in Mexico.James A. Scott (1986).  The Butterflies of North America.  Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.  

Habitat
This species may be found in a variety of open habitats and gardens.

Life cycle
The caterpillar is shiny red.  It has a silver stripe edged with black on each side of the body.  It has silver spots edged with black along the top of the body.  There are six rows of black spines.  The head has two long black spines with clubbed ends.  The chrysalis is dark brown or tan.  It has gold eyes and short gold spines.  On the wing cases, it has a black marking shaped like a "T".  It has 1-3 broods per year.

Host plants
Here is a list of host plants that the Mexican Fritillary caterpillar feeds on:

Ipomoea maritima (used in Brazil)
Passiflora foetida - Foetid Passionflower
Turnera ulmifolia - Yellow Alder (used in Mexico and in the Antilles)

References

Category:Nymphalidae