Speyeria aphrodite

(Fabricius, 1787)

Speyeria aphrodite is a in the Nymphalidae, native to North America. It belongs to a commonly known as greater fritillaries, characterized by their orange-brown wing coloration with black markings and silver spots on the underside. The species has been documented in Canadian provinces including Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan, as well as in Vermont, USA.

Aphrodite fritaillary on milkweed speyeria aphrodite by Sturm Ken, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Used under a Public domain license.Speyeria aphrodite alcestis-black by Nature Study Publishing Company, Chicago.
. Used under a Public domain license.Speyeria mormonia P1480403a by 
xpda. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Speyeria aphrodite: //spaɪˈɪəriə ˌæf.rəˈdaɪti//

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Distribution

Recorded from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in Canada, and Vermont in the United States. The broader range encompasses North America.

More Details

Taxonomic note

The name 'aphrodite' is derived from Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. This naming convention has been applied to multiple across different kingdoms, including a species of fish (Tosanoides aphrodite) described in 2018 from St. Paul's Rocks in the Atlantic Ocean.

Related research context

While no specific behavioral studies have been conducted on S. aphrodite itself, research on congeneric Speyeria cybele and Speyeria atlantis has demonstrated that vision is the primary sensory modality for navigation to suitable patches. These related species rely on visual cues rather than olfaction or wind perception for locating habitat across distances of at least 60 meters.

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Sources and further reading