Marsh fritillary

Marsh fritillaries are the UK's most colourful fritillary species though the bright, chequer-board pattern on the upper wings does fade. After emerging from the chrysalis, the adults rarely fly further afield than 100 metres, to set up small territories around their plant of choice. Marsh fritillaries are always found close to their larval food plant, devil's bit scabious, which grows well on damp heath and calcareous grasslands. A number of populations linked by dispersal is called a metapopulation. As some populations die out, new ones are founded nearby.

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