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Marsh fritillary (Euphydryas aurinia ssp. aurinia)
The Marsh fritillary is conspicious for its beauty and can be found in large parts of Europe - but its numbers have drastically declined, so that in Germany for example it has landed on the list of species with highest protection status. In fact, its presence can often be seen as an indicator for a largely intact habitat.
This species has a very special meaning for us, since my partner spent three summers investigating various populations in Portugal, the central Alps and Romania for the PhD thesis - quite a few years ago :)
Its “cousin” species Euphydryas cynthia is limited to the Alps and alpine meadows:
The marsh fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It is widespread in the Palaearctic region from Ireland in the West to Yakutia in the East, and to North-west China and Mongolia in the South.
