Gulf Fritillary caterpillars are normally bright orange with black 'hairs'. Although large amounts of gray has been seen in the past, it is not normal. 'Albino' larvae, such as the two we found in the wild, are rare. The adults that came from the white caterpillars had white eyes, a type of albinism. A lack of melanin in scales (or skin in humans) causes albinism in a range from pure white to almost normal color.

*Insect Albino = insect with markedly lighter pigmentation and/or white eyes. There are two basic types of albinism. Note the white eyes of the adult Gulf Fritillary in two of the bottom photos. These Gulf Fritillary do not show what is considered 'pure' albino, with no pigmentation in their scales. (Source; wikipedia)