Speyeria atlantis hollandi

(Chermock, 1940)

Holland's Atlantis Fritillary

Speyeria atlantis hollandi is a of the Atlantis fritillary , first described by Chermock in 1940. It belongs to the Nymphalidae. Research on the nominate Speyeria atlantis has demonstrated that this butterfly relies primarily on visual perception for navigation to suitable patches, with studies showing that flash-induced blindness severely impairs homing ability even at short distances.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Speyeria atlantis hollandi: /ˈspaɪəriə ætlˈæntɪs hɒˈlændi/

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Distribution

Recorded from Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan in Canada, and Vermont in the United States. The broader Speyeria atlantis occurs in northern North America.

Behavior

Research on Speyeria atlantis indicates that visual perception is the primary sense used for navigation to suitable patches. In experimental releases over water, unflashed individuals showed distance-dependent success in reaching target islands, while flash-blinded individuals failed to navigate successfully even when habitat was within 20 meters. This suggests visual habitat detection is critical for interpatch and movements.

More Details

Vision-based navigation research

A 2019 study by MacDonald et al. in the Journal of Insect Science examined visual perception and navigation in Speyeria atlantis and Speyeria cybele over water to island in Lake of the Woods, Ontario. The study found that flash-blinded Speyeria atlantis butterflies had zero success in navigating to target islands at any tested distance (30-60 meters), while unflashed individuals showed 50% success at 30 and 40 meters, 16.7% at 50 meters, and 0% at 60 meters. This demonstrates that vision is the sense for habitat detection in this , rather than olfaction or wind perception.