Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
by Rob Hemphill
Title
Gulf Fritillary Butterfly
Artist
Rob Hemphill
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The Gulf fritillary or passion butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) is a bright orange butterfly in the subfamily Heliconiinae of the family Nymphalidae. That subfamily was formerly set apart as a separate family, the Heliconiidae. The Heliconiinae are "longwing butterflies", which have long, narrow wings compared to other butterflies. Gulf fritillary is the only member of genus Agraulis.
Agraulis vanillae is most commonly found in the southern areas of the United States, specifically in many regions of Florida and Texas.
Gulf fritillaries have a chemical defense mechanism in which they release odorous chemicals in response to predator sightings. As a result, common predators learn to avoid this species. Pheromones play a critical role in male-female courtship behaviors, with male gulf fritillaries emitting sex pheromones that contribute to mate choice in females.
In its adult form, the gulf fritillary is a medium-sized butterfly that has extended forewings and a wingspan range of 6.5 to 9.5 cm. This butterfly exhibits sexual dimorphism as females are typically distinctively larger in size than males. The underside of the wings is brown and speckled with silvery white dots. In contrast, the top surface layer of the wings is deep orange in color with black streaks running across. In addition to the size difference between the two sexes, females are usually darker in color and are more marked with black streaks as compared to the males. (from Wikipedia)
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Featured in the following FAA Groups:
"Photography and Nature 101" 05/22/2020
"The Niche" 04/07/2020
"Daily Promotion" 04/07/2020
"10 Plus" 03/26/2020
"Your Story of Art" 03/24/2020
"Go Take a Hike Photography Group" 03/24/2020
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Uploaded
March 24th, 2020
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