Le Petit Nacré, Issoria Lathonia

Issoria lathonia, le petit Nacré, Queen of Spain Fritillary
The underside of this species sports remarkable reflective patches - "pearls" a queen may wear.

Issoria lathonia,le petit Nacré,Queen of Spain FritillaryThe large underside "pearls" are distinctive. The highly concave forewing margin and angled hindwing are distinctive, visible in flight to the trained eye.

Issoria lathonia, le petit Nacré, Queen of Spain FritillaryWidespread and often common across all of Europe except the UK and Scandinavia where it is a rare migrant. Occasionally becomes temporarily resident in the UK, a colony may last several years (e.g. Minesmere, southeast England in the early 2000s). Also north Africa.
Issoria lathonia, le petit Nacré, Queen of Spain FritillaryHot dry places, often amongst cultivation. In Switzerland it is associated strongly, but by no means exclusively, with vineyards at low levels in the Valais. A migrant, more northerly populations are reinforced annually by migration from the south.Issoria lathonia, le petit Nacré, Queen of Spain FritillaryIssoria lathonia, le petit Nacré, Queen of Spain FritillarySpring brood butterflies have a greenish dusting around the wing edges and basally. They are also smaller than the following broods.