Gulf Fritillary Butterfly; Agraulis vanillae

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Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Page Two
Agraulis vanillae


A Gulf Fritillary larva eats its skin after molting	A small Gulf Fritillary caterpillar

Gulf Fritillary caterpillar is orange with black 'hair'. Although it may look scary, it cannot sting.	A Variegated Fritillary caterpillar boasts white specks and shares the same host plant, passionvine.

Ants are attracted to passionvine, the Gulf Fritillary host plant.	A caterpillar hangs in a 'J' preparing to pupate.

Shortly before pupation, its skin becomes clear.	Fully pupated, a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar has now become a pupa, or chrysalis.
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When the adult butterfly emerges, its proboscis is in two sections. If it does not bring the sections together, it will live its short life with a split proboscis. A split proboscis makes life hard for a butterfly as drinking nectar from a flower becomes difficult if not impossible.	The proboscis is kept tightly curled unless the butterfly is drinking nectar or other liquid.

Three Gulf Fritillaries drink nectar from zinnias	Yellow lantana is a favorite of butterflies. Six Gulf Fritillaries are in this photograph drinking nectar from lantana.

A Gulf Fritillary is covered with pollen after drinking nectar.	Butterflies drink other 'food' than nectar. This Gulf Fritillary is drinking sweat from my hand after I had been wiping my face while videoing in the garden for an hour. This photo is not staged, it chose to land on me and stayed with me about ten minutes.

A fresh pile of dog poop (manure) is a feast for this butterfly.	Butterflies also eat dead animals. Dog food moist from dew creates a meal for something other than the dog.

Scales on the outside of a Gulf Fritillary's wings come off with a slight touch. The shiny silver scales admidst the orange and black scales create an attractive pattern.	A Gulf Fritillary waits for the morning sun to dry dewdrops from it's wings, antennae, and body.

Click here for to return to page one of the Gulf Fritillary lifecycle.

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Shady Oak Butterfly Farm Toll free 877-485-2458 12876 SW CR 231 Brooker, Fl 32622 Stephen & Edith Smith

Located 45 minutes from the Butterfly Rainforest Exhibit at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida