Glanville fritillary

The Glanville Fritillary is a medium-sized orange, black and white "checkerspot" butterfly inhabiting open meadows. The males patrol along roads and habitat edges, on the lookout for the less conspicuous females which remain in dense tussocks for long periods. Mating occurs around mid-day, and as the female often continues to fly from flower to flower, mating pairs are conspicuous.The animal spends most of its life as a black, spiny caterpillar. The orange patterned butterfly lives only a few weeks.