Falklands fritillary

English

Yramea cytheris siga

Noun

Falklands fritillary (plural Falklands fritillaries)

1. A species of butterfly found in the Falkland Islands (Yramea cytheris).
   • 1982, “Some Notes From the Falklands”, in Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists' Society, Feltham, England: Amateur Entomologists' Society, →ISSN, page 174:

     One of the areas most attractive and scarce inhabitants is the tiny Falkland fritillary butterfly which flies 3-4" above ground on the rare occasions when the sun is out and the wind is blowing less than a gale!

   • 1987, Ian Strange, The Falkland Islands and Their Natural History, Newton Abbot, England: David & Charles, page 129:

     A speeies of butterfly which is fairly common to certain parts of the islands both on the West and East Falklands is the Queen of the Falkland fritillary (Issoria cytheris cytheris).

   • 1989, Sylvia Sullivan, The RSPB Book of the Birdwatching Year, Calgary, Alberta: Equation, →ISBN, page 207:

     Little rusty butterflies — the endemic Falkland fritillaries — jigged along close to the turf, as if fearful that a change in the weather could blow them away from their islands forever.

   • 1992, Ian Strange, A Field Guide to the Wildlife of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia, New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins, →ISBN, page 159:

     Or alternatively, but less plausibly, there could be a small breeding population on the islands which migrates to South America during the winter. Larger than the Falkland Fritillary and has a much swifter zig-zag flight.

   • 1992, D.A. Oram, “The Falkland Islands ⁠— An Entomological Snapshop”, in The Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation, volume 104, Brentwood, England: Cravitz Printing Company, →ISSN, page 132:

     I was blessed with two fine days in 1990 on Carcass Island and I was able to see the Falkland Fritillary in full flight in the more sheltered parts of the island.

   • 1997, Robin Woods, Nick Woods, “Middle Island & Motley Island Nature Reserves: Report on field survey work in January 1997”, in Falklands Conservation‎^[1]:

     One specimen of the Queen of the Falklands Fritillary butterfly was seen briefly on 12 January in bright sunshine.

   • 2005, David A. Broughton, James H. McAdam, “A checklist of the native vascular flora of the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): New information on the species present, their ecology, status and distribution”, in Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, volume 132, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Torrey Botanical Society, →DOI, →ISSN:

     […] the common and widespread Viola maculata is given protected status not be cause it is rare or endangered, but because it is thought to be the larval food plant of the 'Queen-of-the-Falklands Fritillary (Issoria cytheris) a nationally rare butterfly and protected wild animal.

   • 2006, John Warren Reynolds, Alexander G. Jones, “The Earthworms of the Falkland Islands, South Atlantic Ocean”, in Megadrilogica, volume 10, number 10, →ISSN, page 78:

     Of particular notes is the presence of only one butterfly species, the Queen of the Falklands Fritillary, Yramea cytheris — currently thought to breed in the Falkland Islands.

   • 2012, Graham Bound, Fortress Falklands: Life Under Siege in Britain's Last Outpost, Barnsley, England: Pen and Sword Books, →ISBN, page 37:

     Meanwhile, the Governor had been working on his own research topic: butterflies. He had found an important breeding ground for the Falklands fritillary, a beautiful red butterfly that is locally known as the Queen of the Falklands, and he planned to learn more about them during his time here.

   • 2019, Will Wagstaff, Falkland Islands, Chalfont St. Peter, England: Bradt Travel Guides, →ISBN, page 42:

     The only species thought to breed on the islands is the queen of Falklands fritillary, which is a medium-sized, dull-orange butterfly with many small marks forming a pattern towards the outer edge of each wing.

   • 2020, Nigel Robert Haywood, “The Falkland Fritillary: Biological and Ecological Factors in the Conservation of Yramea cytheris cytheris”, in Bournemouth University‎^[2], Doctoral Thesis:

     With no funding from the UK, and a difficult financial environment for the Falkland Islands, the case for direct FIG action on the Falkland fritillary does not seem compelling. This is perhaps the strongest reason to look at community action, based on a Species Action Plan.

Usage notes

• Yramea cytheris has two subspecies: cytheris (found on the Falklands) and siga (found in Chila and Argentina). It is unclear whether Yramea cytheris siga are considered to be Falklands fritillaries.
• Often referred to with variations of "Queen of the Falklands fritillary" (see quotes).