Flitting Through the Forest: Spotting Fritillaries in August

If you catch a sudden flash of bright orange fluttering past the tree line this time of year, there’s a good chance you’ve just crossed paths with a fritillary. These large, fast-flying butterflies are mid-to-late summer staples in Northwestern Ontario, easily recognized by their intricate, stained-glass black markings on top and silvery spots hidden beneath their wings. They are just one of the many insects, plants, and flowers we love to document during our summer living lab programming as we track the changing season.

Unlike many butterflies that spend their day hovering exclusively over flower garden beds, fritillaries love sunny clearings, forest edges, and logging trails. You’ll often find them taking a breather on tree bark, fallen logs, or damp patches of gravel to absorb heat and mineral nutrients. Their caterpillars rely almost entirely on wild violets for food, making the rich, varied understory around our living lab grounds ideal territory for them to thrive.

As August moves along, these butterflies are in full gear—mating, laying eggs near forest floor foliage, and sipping nectar from late-blooming composites like asters and thistles. Spotting one resting quietly on a birch trunk like this is always a treat, offering a rare moment to capture its image before it darts back up into the canopy.