Queen of Spain Fritillary
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Issoria lathonia
Found across Europe into North Africa & the Canary Islands.
Rare & fairly regular vagrant to Britain.
The caterpillar can reach a length of 35 millimetres (1.4 in).
It is greyish brown, with black spots, and relatively short brown spines with white tip, and a double row of dorsal white streaks.
The Larvae feed on Viola species.
The wings show a deep orange-violet background, with rounded black spots arranged in regular rows and suffused with greenish gray in the Females.
The underside of the hindwings is decorated with large pearly nacreous spots and it is crossed by a postdiscal row of black eyespots with pearly pupils.
Some pearly spots also appear at the apex of the forewings.
Flight period is from March-October.