view of two Silver-washed Fritillariesnectaring on bramble flowers

Silver-washed Fritillaries. Photo: Maire Murphy

Family: Fritillaries and Metalmarks
Size: Large   Wingspan: 74mm

Large, eye-catching butterflies: a lovely sight fluttering through woodland.

Where to see

  • Habitat: Deciduous woodland
  • Caterpillar foodplants: Mainly Common Dog Violet but other violets too.
  • Best places: Widespread where there is woodland. Try Brackett's Coppice, Duncliffe Wood, Garston Wood, Hethfelton, Langton Westwood, Powerstock, or Stubhampton Bottom.

Distribution map

Silver-washed Fritillary was recorded from these 1km squares in Dorset (2020-24).

    Key:
  •     1 record
  •     2-9 records
  •     10+ records
Explore the Atlas to see historical distribution trends for this species.

When to see

Peaks in July, but can be seen a month either side.

Sightings by month (last 5 years)*

Compare flight times for all species.

This year and last*


Browse the sightings archive.

What to look for

Size is the first distinguishing factor for this butterfly: it is large. The only other butterfly likely to be occasionally seen in the same habitat is the Dark Green Fritillary.

Male upperwings are different to all other fritillaries, having four black lines along the veins of the forewing; these are sex brands which during courtship burst open, showering the female with scent scales.

The underwings have a wash of green, like the Dark-Green Fritillary, but this is broken up by distinctive streaks of white/silver.

Between 5% and 15% of female Silver-Washed in Dorset are a variant called Valezina. Their upper wings are not orange, but a more muted colour, with a bronze green sheen, the underwings have a pinkish tinge, but still with the green wash and white streaks.

Eggs are laid in tree bark crevices or moss. The caterpillars hatch and hibernate in the tree, then in spring they drop to the ground and seek out violets.

Overwinter stage: Caterpillar

Photo gallery

Click thumbnails to view full-size images.

Large Orange butterfly with dark spots and lines on a fern leaf.

Silver-washed Fritillary male - note the black bars on the forewings. Photo: Chris Rowland

Orange butterfly with a lot of dark spots in a regular pattern

Silver-washed Fritillary female - no black bars on the forewings, only spots. Photo: Ken Dolbear

Orange butterfly with white markings underneath

Silver-washed Fritillary male. Photo: Ken Dolbear

Side view of hindwing, shoing green-washed wing with white streaks

Silver-washed Fritillary. Photo: Ken Dolbear

Two orange with darker markings butterflies, one lighter than the other

Silver-washed Fritillaries, male to right with darker colour. Photo: James Gould

Butterfly with pale background to wings, overlain with bronze/green wash and with dark brown markings.

Silver-washed Fritillary female Valezina form. Duller than the normal form. Photo: Colin Burningham

Pale butterfly with dark brown markings

Silver-washed Fritillary female Valezina form. Photo: Jackie Day

Orange and brown butterfly with open wings above a greenish butterfly side-on

Silver-washed Fritillaries mating - male to the top. Photo: Sue Anderson

Red Admiral sharing a buddleia flower stalk with the much bigger Silver-washed Fritillary

Red Admiral (back) and Silver-washed Fritillary; the two butterflies are much the same size, with the SWF sometimes a bit larger. Photo: Harold Gillen

Two orange butterflies on a leaf, one bigger, the other with ragged wing edges

Silver-washed Fritillary (to front) and Comma. The SWF is recognisable by size, the Comma by its ragged wing edges. Photo: Brian Arnold

Find more Silver-washed Fritillary related content, including news and photos.
*Note: The charts shown on this page are drawn only from casual sightings submitted to this website. Records from this website will be added to a lot more data collected throughout the year and used to compile the five-yearly Butterfly Atlases for Dorset and the UK.