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| UK Status |
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| Resident |
A species which is continually Resident in the UK with stable breeding populations. |
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| Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Migrant in the UK. It may be able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Migrants are normally reported in the UK every year. |
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| Rare Migrant |
A species which occurs as a Rare Migrant in the UK. It may able to breed here although they are usually unable to survive our winter months. Rare Migrants may not be seen for many years. |
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| Extinct |
A species which is Extinct in the UK, usually as a result of habitat loss. |
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| Introduction |
A species which ocurs in the UK as an accidental introduction. |
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Description
The High Brown Fritillary is a large powerful butterfly. The wings are orange with black markings similar to several related fritillaries especially the Dark Green Fritillary. It is usually seen in sunshine flying swiftly over bracken and other low vegetation in woodland clearings. On cloudy days, they have the habit of retreating to the top of trees when the sun goes in.
In the wild, the male High Brown Fritillary is almost impossible to distinguish from the Dark Green Fritillaries which often occurs in the same location. The High Brown Fritillary is easy to approach when feeding on flowers such as Bramble and Thistles enabling close inspection of the underside of the wings to see their distinctive markings.
The High Brown Fritillary is a Priority Species for conservation due to the continued loss of habitat and resulting drop in population.
Habitat
The High Brown Fritillary requires scrub or coppiced woodland on limestone outcrops containing bracken-dominated areas of calcareous grassland where the larval food plant occurs.
Bracken in sunny locations where Violets are common is similar to habitat found in coppice woodland. Abundant leaf litter helps to trap warm air creating a warmer microclimate required for the larvae to develop.
Larval Food Plants
Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana) is used in all habitats and is the primary larval food plant. In Limestone areas such as colonies in the Morecambe Bay area use Hairy Violet (Viola hirta).
Heath Dog-violet (Viola canina) and Pale Dog-violet (Viola lactea) are also occasionally used.
The female butterfly lays its eggs close to a Violet plant rather than directly on it.
British Subspecies
The following sub-species of the High Brown Fritillary occur in the UK.
 High Brown Fritillary - Argynnis adippe vulgoadippe (Verity, 1929) - Occurs throughout the UK.
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| Stock Photography Library |
| We have 21 photographs of the High Brown Fritillary in the British Butterflies photo library |
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BB448 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB447 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB446 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB445 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB444 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB138 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB137 - High Brown Fritillary
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BB136 - High Brown Fritillary
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| Distribution |
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| The High Brown Fritillary was once a widespread species in England and Wales but since the 1950's it has undergone a dramatic decline suffering a staggering contraction in its original range. Over 94% of its original distribution has been lost over the past fifty years and is now extinct throughout the vast majority of the UK due to habitat loss. It now has only four main strongholds the Morecambe Bay area, Exmoor, Dartmoor, and a small population in the Malvern Hills. It now only occurs on approximately 50 sites across the UK. |
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| Where to see the High Brown Fritillary |
The High Brown Fritillary was once a widespread species in England and Wales but since the 1950's it has undergone a dramatic decline suffering a staggering contraction in its original range. Over 94% of its original distribution has been lost over the past fifty years and is now extinct throughout the vast majority of the UK due to habitat loss. It now has only four main strongholds the Morecambe Bay area, Exmoor, Dartmoor, and a small population in the Malvern Hills. It now only occurs on approximately 50 sites across the UK.
Key sites for the High Brown Fritillary include:
Cumbria: Whitbarrow Scar, Latterbarrow, Hutton Roof Crags, Witherslack Woods.
Devon: Trenchford Reservoir (SX806824).
Lancashire: Arnside Knott, Gait Barrows NNR, Eaves Wood (Carnforth), Warton Crag (Carnforth), Heald Brow (Silverdale).
Vale of Glamorgan: Old Castle Down, Alun Valley.
Montgomeryshire: Allt Dolanog (although the species may now be extinct here).
Exmoor: Heddon Valley and Heddon's Mouth.
Dartmoor: Tor Valley.
Worcestershire: Still hanging on at Bringsty Common although recent sightings have not been confirmed.
THE MALVERN HILLS COLONY
The Malvern Hills colony still produces a few sightings every year. The main breeding areas here are thought to be on Castlemorton Common SSSI and Eastnor Park where since 1994 annual bracken management has taken place to help the species although numbers continued to decline. The butterfly also occurs around Chase End Hill. Grazing has been introduced to the southern areas of the Malvern Hill, south of British Camp in the hope that this will reverse the decline of this species in the area. The management on the Malvern Hills has also benefited many other species of Fritillary including the Dark Green Fritillary, Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Silver-washed Fritillary. |
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| Population Trends |
| species status |
the High Brown Fritillary is a resident species in Britain |
| population trend1 |
(1995-2004)  down by -85% |
(1976-2004) down by -13% |
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1Fox, R., Asher. J., Brereton. T., Roy, D & Warren, M.
(2006) The State of Butterflies in Britain & Ireland, Pices, Oxford. |
| UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) Status |
| UK BAP status2 |
priority species (link) |
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| 2 For more information about the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) species status, visit www.ukbap.org.uk. |
| IUCN Category Status |
| IUCN category3 |
 critically endangered4 |
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3 Fox, R., Warren, M & Brereton, T.
(2007) New Red List of British Butterflies. Butterfly Conservation, Wareham.
4 More information about IUCN categories available here. |
| Find Out More Online* |
| More information about the High Brown Fritillary can be found on Peter Eeles excellent UK Butterflies web site. |
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Aberrations and Forms |
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| We currently know of 9 named aberrant forms of the High Brown Fritillary. More information about aberrants can be found here. |
 ab. albomaculata - Goodson (1948) |
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| ab. bronzus - Frohawk (1938) |
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| ab. callisto - Cabeau (1922) |
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| ab. cuneata - Tutt (1896) |
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| ab. fasciata - Blachier (1910) |
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| ab. infrarufescens - Lempke (1956) |
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| ab. margareta - Stephan (1924) |
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| ab. pseudocleodoxa - Verity (1929) |
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| ab. toroki - Aigner (1906) |
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| References |
| The information on this web site comes from a variety of freely available resources including books, academic reports and web sites alongside my own personal observations of butterflies. The species descriptions are currently in the process of being edited (spring 2009) to include new data, recent personal observations and referencing following a major update to the site.
A complete list of references mentioned in the text on this web site is available here. |
| * External Links Disclaimer |
| This web site includes links to information provided by external web sites which are not in any way under the control of www.britishbutterflies.co.uk. We cannot, therefore, be held responsible for the content of external web pages. |
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55-75mm
