Great spangled fritillary

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Great spangled fritillary 
Speyeria cybele

Wing span: 
2 1/2 to 4  inches 

Caterpillar hosts plants: 
leaves of violet, Viola

Adult food:  
nectar of:  bergamot, Monarda; black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia; butterfly weed and milkweed, Asclepias; dogbane, Apocynum; gloriosa daisy, Rudbeckia; ironweed, Vernonia; Joe-pye weed, Eupatorium; mountain laurel, Kalmia; purple coneflower, Echinacea; red clover, Trifolium; thistles, Cirsium; verbena, Verbena; vetch, Vicia

Habitat: 
open moist places, including: fields, meadows, open woodland, pastures, right-of-ways, valleys 

Notes:  
hibernates as newly hatched caterpillar, males patrol for females. 
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