The Queen of Spain Fritillary is a large and distinctive butterfly with a wingspan of 3.8 to 4.5cm. Its hindwings are more sharply angular than most other fritillaries, and the upperwings have regular rows of rounded spots.
The undersides of the hindwings are decorated with large pearly spots - visible in the pictures immediately above and below.
The Queen of Spain Fritillary is a very rare migrant to southern Britain. Its native range covers most of mainland Europe, however, except for the far north of Scandinavia, and extends southwards into northern Africa and eastwards through Asia as far as eastern China.
This migrant species is found in a variety of mainly dryish habitats including heathland and herb-rich meadows, but also in fields with arable crops, on rocky hill slopes, and on woodland edges.
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