{"id":176411,"date":"2026-05-31T03:50:58","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T08:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=176411"},"modified":"2026-05-31T03:50:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T08:50:58","slug":"variegated-fritillary-butterfly-on-blooming-vetch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/05\/31\/variegated-fritillary-butterfly-on-blooming-vetch\/","title":{"rendered":"Variegated Fritillary Butterfly On Blooming Vetch"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"VariegatedVariegated Fritillary butterfly nectaring on blooming vetch \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 640, -0.3 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 500m, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier this month I photographed a Variegated Fritillary butterfly nectaring on vetch from the roadside at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Because I hadn’t had this species in my viewfinder for almost two years, I was thrilled.<\/p>\n

I adore “other things with wings” and had forgotten about the images I had taken of this butterfly in early May.<\/p>\n

There is at least one field where it appears that vetch was planted at the refuge. Vetch is in the pea family and can help enrich and improve the soil because it forms a partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. That reduces the need for fertilizer.<\/p>\n

Used as “green manure,” the vetch will get turned into the soil later, where it will also add organic matter in addition to the nitrogen.<\/p>\n

And, the blooming vetch brings in hundreds of butterflies too, like this Variegated Fritillary. Variegated Fritillary butterflies<\/span><\/a> have a wide range in North and South America.<\/p>\n

They also have numerous host and nectar plants which allows them to be more nomadic than other species of fritillaries. The first time I photographed this fritillary species at the refuge they were nectaring on Common Hedge Parsley. Common Hedge Parsley happens to be blooming at the refuge right now!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my insect and spider galleries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Earlier this month I photographed a Variegated Fritillary butterfly nectaring on vetch from the roadside at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":176408,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[13973,13974,14226],"tags":[4004,6098,6557,13984,6041,6042,14228,4040,6518,2217,12033,6634,6044,165,14227,15101,17554],"class_list":["post-176411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","category-variegated-fritillary-butterflies","tag-adult","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-bottomlands","tag-butterflies","tag-butterfly","tag-euptoieta-claudia","tag-feeding","tag-flowering","tag-flowers","tag-fritillaries","tag-fritillary","tag-nectaring","tag-spring","tag-variegated-fritillary","tag-variegated-fritillary-butterfly","tag-vetch"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/variegated-fritillary-vetch-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-8728.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-JTl","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":114839,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/07\/30\/variegated-fritillary-butterfly-at-sequoyah-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":176411,"position":0},"title":"Variegated 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"Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange Sulphur butterfly on a coneflower, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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I don't normally have to ask for identification assistance but I need it for this other thing with wings.","rel":"","context":"In "Summit County"","block_context":{"text":"Summit County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/summit-county-utah\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Fritillary butterfly on a Musk Thistle, Little Emigration Canyon, Summit County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mystery-fritillary-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-3515.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mystery-fritillary-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-3515.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/mystery-fritillary-musk-thistle-mia-mcpherson-3515.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, 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