Mapping changes in the distribution of the Dark Green Fritillary in VC64 between 2000 and 2010

摘要

Introduction to the Dark Green FritillaryThe Dark Green Fritillary Argynnis aglaja (DGF) is a local, single-brooded, large fritillary butterfly with adults flying from June to the end of August, the exact flight period depending on the weather (for photographs, see front cover and Plate III, centre pages). It is encountered in a variety of biotopes with abundant violets, from the early serai stages of woodland to heathland, moorland and grassland. Its main food plants are Common Dog-violet Viola riviniana and Marsh Violet V. palustris but Hairy Violet V. hirta is also used on calcareous sites. Adults are highly mobile and tend to occur at low densities over large areas in which there are small patches of suitable breeding habitat. On the best sites with a greater concentration of breeding habitat the adults can become more numerous and the colonies occupy more discrete areas (Asher et al., 2001). For more details of its biology and life history see Clough (2005) and Thomas & Lewington (2010).