Many of us know the beauty of a fresh Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly. When I lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I’d go to Nichol Field, their 100+ acre meadow. On those summer mornings I’d often see dozens of Great Spangled Fritillaries, in that amazing meadow. I’d sometimes see Ranger Patrick Adams those mornings, and I’d congratulate him on nurturing such a glorious meadow at Raccoon Creek State Park.

Every once in a while, when I would wade into the chest high grass there, I’d spy a smaller, different Fritillary butterfly. It flew in an almost awkward manner, flew low, and I’d become electrified! A Meadow Fritillary butterfly! Here’s one that cooperated, stopping to nectar while I shot away.

Seeing a Meadow Fritillary was exciting, for others were bemoaning the increasing absence of Meadow Frits. Jeffrey Glassberg in A Swift Guide to Butterflies of North America noted an “expanding range in some areas while disappearing from others.” He sure was correct, for they seem to have become much less common in western Pennsylvania.

Seeing a Meadow Fritillary? Energizing!

Jeff