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(Small) Pearl-bordered Fritillary? (1 Viewer)

Andy Adcock

Andy Adcock

Worst person on Birdforum
Cyprus
After five years at my local patch in St Petersburg Russia, I've been surprised that I haven't recorded Pearl-bordered Fritillary whilst Small P-b is common.

I do however, get insects that confuse me occasionally such as the attached, which looks like Pearl-bordered to me? It was flying in sedges on the marsh with the abundant, presumed S Pb. Opinions and advice welcome but the forewing tip, looks good as do a couple of the individual cells in the hind wing.




A
 

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I'd go Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - in this part of the world, Pearl-bordered tends to have a much smaller spot in the cell and doesn't have the prominent black inner edging to the margin pearls.

Small Pearl-bordered is also the more common species here, occurring widely in damp grassland and marshy areas. Pearl-bordered is more restricted in range, often in sphagnum bogs, etc
 
Jos Stratford said:
I'd go Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary - in this part of the world, Pearl-bordered tends to have a much smaller spot in the cell and doesn't have the prominent black inner edging to the margin pearls.

Small Pearl-bordered is also the more common species here, occurring widely in damp grassland and marshy areas. Pearl-bordered is more restricted in range, often in sphagnum bogs, etc
Click to expand...

I agree with all the above Jos but look at third cell up from the base of the hind wing, it' s a solid, single cell, should be bisected with a dark line in SPb and there's a white cell in the middle of the hindwing which is shorter in SPb?

Tip of the forweing also looks better for PB?


A
 
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Here's what I'd expect a Pearl-bordered to look like, from Estonia: https://observation.org/foto/view/14060218
Note the brown spots and lack of black edgings.

There are a few Russian observations identified as Pearl-bordered on the same site, but they look more like Small Pearl-bordered to me (thick black margins etc.): https://observation.org/foto/view/1365158
I'll ask for confirmation on this one... The one thing it has got going for it over Andy's one are the regularly sized black spots.

I was searching for Pearl-bordered two weeks ago, but all of my photos showed Small Pearl-bordered!
 
Xenospiza said:
Here's what I'd expect a Pearl-bordered to look like, from Estonia: https://observation.org/foto/view/14060218
Note the brown spots and lack of black edgings.

There are a few Russian observations identified as Pearl-bordered on the same site, but they look more like Small Pearl-bordered to me (thick black margins etc.): https://observation.org/foto/view/1365158
I'll ask for confirmation on this one... The one thing it has got going for it over Andy's one are the regularly sized black spots.

I was searching for Pearl-bordered two weeks ago, but all of my photos showed Small Pearl-bordered!
Click to expand...

Thanks,
I'm sure Jos is right,
this is a nice 'side by side' but some Fennoscandian races are a bit confusing.

http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/imag...all Pearl-bordered Fritillary - underside.jpg

The point Jos makes about the black border to the 'pearls' is a good and seemingly, consistent feature. I still think that the tip of the forewing on mine, looks VERY, like PB.

I'd agree btw, the image at the link in Petrazavodsk, looks like SP-b to me too.



A
 
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One addition addition thing that I could add that might be of use - though Pearl-bordered are pretty rare here in comparison to Small Pearl-bordered, they do in my experience not tend to fly together - if I find Pearl-bordered, then it tends be pure Pearl-bordereds, not a mix of the two (even if I am seeing Small Pearl-bordered nearby the same day.

Undoubtedly will be exceptions to this, and maybe not applicable to other localities, but worth thinking about.
 
Jos Stratford said:
One addition addition thing that I could add that might be of use - though Pearl-bordered are pretty rare here in comparison to Small Pearl-bordered, they do in my experience not tend to fly together - if I find Pearl-bordered, then it tends be pure Pearl-bordereds, not a mix of the two (even if I am seeing Small Pearl-bordered nearby the same day.

Undoubtedly will be exceptions to this, and maybe not applicable to other localities, but worth thinking about.
Click to expand...


Thanks, that was a question I'd been meaning to ask.


A
 
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