Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia) in Ireland

Fritileán airgeadach in Gaeilge. The Silver-washed Fritillary, Argynnis paphia, is Ireland’s largest fritillary and the flagship butterfly of mature deciduous woodland from late June to August.

Identify it in four steps

1. Males upperside bright orange with black chevrons, thick scent-scale bars along the forewing veins, and a strong, powerful flight along woodland rides.
2. Females duller, olive-orange, without the male’s scent bars; the form valezina, greenish-grey above, is very rare in Ireland but has been recorded.
3. Underside hindwing distinctive: olive-green with silvery streaks and cross-bands (“silver washed”), diagnostic among Irish fritillaries.
4. Wingspan 55 to 70 mm; large, gliding flight along sunlit woodland edges, feeding readily at Bramble blossom.

Habitat in Ireland

The Silver-washed Fritillary is a woodland species that needs mature oak or mixed deciduous woodland with sunny rides, glades, and warm scrub edges. Larvae feed on Common Dog Violet (Viola riviniana) growing in dappled shade on the woodland floor; females lay eggs on tree trunks and moss rather than directly on the foodplant.

Larvae overwinter as young caterpillars in bark crevices before descending to feed on violets in spring. The species has expanded its Irish range noticeably in recent decades, reoccupying woodlands it had been absent from since the mid-twentieth century.

Where to see it

• Killarney National Park oakwoods, County Kerry: the strongest Irish population; sunlit rides at Muckross and Torc produce reliable July sightings.
• Glengarriff Nature Reserve, County Cork: sessile-oak woodland with wide rides holds a good population.
• Vale of Clara oakwoods, County Wicklow: mature broadleaf woodland with violet-rich ground flora.

Related species

• Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja)
• Marsh Fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia)
• Pearl-bordered Fritillary (Boloria euphrosyne)