Uncompahgre Fritillary
Look first for small dark fritillary with orange-brown patterning above treeline, then confirm it in snow-willow patches on very high san juan mountain slopes. Those two clues make Uncompahgre Fritillary much easier to identify responsibly in Colorado.
Artwork inspired by Elisabeth Spalding
The Uncompahgre fritillary is known only from scattered high-elevation colonies in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains. Its caterpillars depend on snow willow, and adults emerge during a short alpine summer above treeline.
Climate change, recreation, collecting, and tiny isolated populations make exact locations sensitive. Enjoy alpine habitat from durable routes, do not net butterflies or enter closed research areas, and avoid geotagging a colony even when identification seems certain.
- Status
- Federally endangered Colorado endemic
- Best clue
- Small dark fritillary with orange-brown patterning above treeline
- Colorado habitat
- Snow-willow patches on very high San Juan Mountain slopes
Quick guide
- Best practice
- Use agency-led observation from durable alpine ground
- Do not
- Capture, net, chill, or publish colony coordinates
Read Uncompahgre Fritillary in four field decisions
- Know the stakes
- This endangered butterfly persists in tiny high San Juan colonies associated with snow willow.
- Photograph the whole insect
- Record both upperwing pattern and the underside if it opens naturally; several alpine fritillaries overlap.
- Record conditions
- Note elevation, wind, temperature, plant association, and time without stepping into willow mats.
- Defer identification
- Leave an uncertain image unresolved and share sensitive evidence only with qualified conservation staff.
Good to know
A close image of Uncompahgre Fritillary is not automatically decisive: habitat, timing, full structure, and the alternative species considered should remain part of the record.
Notice these
- Small dark fritillary with orange-brown patterning above treeline
- Snow-willow patches on very high San Juan Mountain slopes
- Federally endangered Colorado endemic