• Butterflies
• Dragonflies
• Damselflies
• Tiger beetles
• Hike with Mike

• The butterflies:
• Brushfooted Butterflies
  • Snouts
  • Heliconians and Fritillaries
  • True Brushfoots
  • Admirals and Relatives
  • Leafwings
  • Emperors
  • Satyrs
  • Monarchs
• Heliconians and Fritillaries
  • Gulf Fritillary
  • Variegated Fritillary
  • Great Spangled Fritillary
  • Aphrodite Fritillary
  • Regal Fritillary
  • Atlantis Fritillary
  • Bog Fritillary
  • Silver-bordered Fritillary
  • Meadow Fritillary
  • Frigga Fritillary
  • Freija Fritillary
  • Purplish Fritillary

Freija Fritillary

(Boloria freija)

This species and the Frigga Fritillary are spring species of the northernmost counties in Wisconsin and are typically found in large open muskeg areas. Because of the Freija Fritillary’s limited distribution in Wisconsin, its habitat type, the kind of weather likely to encounter when looking for this species, and the short flight periods, the Freija Fritillary is seldom seen in Wisconsin. This species in particular can often be found flying in sunny, but very cool temperatures when many people wouldn’t even think of looking for butterflies. From my own experience there was a day in 2008 when 14 people did think about looking for them in cool, sunny, but windy day, and even then they had no luck finding them. Fortunately I was able to go back the next weekend and saw three individuals including this photogenic one that I was able to follow for about thirty minutes.

Identifying characteristics: Above the Freija Fritillary is orange with various black markings, with very dark areas near the body. The color below is mainly tawny with distinct white horizontal spots on the wing margins and a very obvious median line of white crescents capped with black on the hind wing, giving the appearance of very zigzagging lines.

Similar species: In flight, all of the lesser fritillaries are very similar. From above, the Freija Fritillary is most likely to be confused with Frigga Fritillary, which is found in similar habitats, whose flight period usually overlaps that of the Freija Fritillary, and also is very dark near the body. Below, these two species are easily told apart, with the Frigga Fritillary having a pale hoary like coating over the outer half of the hind wing, similar to the Meadow Fritillary, and the Freija lacks this and has horizontal white lines along the wing margins.

Habitat: Open bogs in northern Wisconsin.

Flight: One brood. The Freija Fritillary is one of the earliest of the lesser fritillaries. This species has been recorded on the first day in May in Wisconsin, but most often is seen flying sometime in the last two weeks of May. The flight time varies but is usually only several weeks in any location.

Abundance: An uncommon butterfly that is seldom observed and is rarely abundant even where found in Wisconsin.

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