The story of the Silver-washed Fritillary
Watch how the female butterfly lands on the trunk of the tree a metre or so from the ground, and lays an egg in a crack in the bark. Here first the egg and then the tiny caterpillar must last the winter as long as insect or bird predators do not find it.
A caterpillar's life must be very tough but the case of the
Silver-washed Fritillary must take some beating!
 | The caterpillars of this butterfly feed on violet leaves but by the time the butterflies are ready to lay their eggs in July and August, the leaves of the woodland violets have begun to shrivel up. So the females lay their eggs on tree trunks on the edges of the clearings close to where the violets will come up again the following spring (they can sniff out where the violets are). |
The eggs are laid in crevices in the bark, usually 1-2 metres above the ground, often on the mossy northfacing side of the trunks. Professor Jeremy Thomas who has studied these butterflies in detail, describes how the female he was watching laid eggs in the seams of his trousers! In this photo you can see the violet plants close to the laying site. |  |
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The eggs hatch after about a fortnight and the tiny larvae first eat their eggshells then spin equally tiny pads of silk on the tree trunks on which they hibernate until the following spring.
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In the spring, they descend to the ground to search out some fresh violet leaves and begin to feed. When they are not eating, they bask in the sunshine, highly camouflaged on the dry dead leaves on the woodland floor. By June, the larvae are fully grown and climb a few metres up into trees or shrubs to pupate. |  |
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The Pupae are also very well camouflaged, looking like curled-up dead leaves with silvery patches. |
Click here to find out more about the other woodland Fritillaries.