Great Spangled Fritillary vs Variegated Cutworm

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Great Spangled Fritillary Variegated Cutworm
Scientific Name Speyeria cybele Peridroma saucia
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Noctuidae
Size 62-88 mm wingspan 40-55 mm wingspan
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Nectar Feeders Seed Feeders
Regions North America Worldwide
Conservation Least Concern Not Evaluated

Great Spangled Fritillary

Large orange butterfly with heavy black markings and silver spots on the hindwing underside. Common across much of North America.

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Did You Know?

Newly hatched caterpillars do not eat until the following spring after overwintering.

Variegated Cutworm

A mottled brown moth whose plump soil-dwelling caterpillars cut through stems of seedlings at ground level. It attacks a very wide range of vegetables and field crops.

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Did You Know?

A single caterpillar can cut down several seedlings in one night, often felling far more plants than it actually eats.