Norse Grayling vs Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Norse Grayling Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly
Scientific Name Oeneis norna Boloria acrocnema
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Nymphalidae
Size 44-54 mm wingspan 3-4 cm wingspan
Habitat Heathland Mountains
Diet Omnivores Herbivores
Regions Scandinavia, Finland, northern Russia, Siberia United States
Conservation Least Concern Endangered

Norse Grayling

A medium-sized grayish-brown butterfly with subtle orange patches and small eyespots. The wings have a semi-translucent quality that helps with camouflage on lichen-covered ground. It has an erratic, low flight.

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Did You Know?

This butterfly emerges in alternate years only, with populations synchronized so that all adults in an area appear in the same year.

Uncompahgre Fritillary Butterfly

A small alpine butterfly found only above 3900 m in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. It was not discovered until 1978.

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Did You Know?

Climate change is pushing its alpine habitat ever higher, leaving it with nowhere to go.