| Family | Nymphalidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Nymphalinae |
| Genus | Melitaea |
| Species | athalia |
| Authority | (Rottemburg, 1775) |
| English Name | Heath Fritillary |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The Heath Fritillary is found in many different sorts of biotope, ranging from dry to damp, grassy, flower-rich places, often situated near bushes or in woodland, or in clearings and along the edges of paths in woods. Its foodplants are plantains (Plantago spp.), cow-wheats (Melampyrum spp.), speedwells (Veronica spp.), foxgloves (Digitalis spp.), and toadflaxes (Linara spp.). The female lays her eggs in clusters on the underside of the leaves. The caterpillars feed communally in silken nests, also hibernating together when half-grown. They then disperse over the plant, either into small groups, or, mostly, become solitary. They pupate on the foodplant, and usually have one brood a year, except in the south, where they have two.
Albania / Austria / Belarus / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders (Regionally Extinct) / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia / Denmark / Estonia / Finland / France / France: Mainland / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Hungary / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Latvia / Liechtenstein / Lithuania / Luxembourg / North Macedonia / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands / Norway / Poland / Romania / European Russia / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Sweden / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine / United Kingdom / United Kingdom: Great Britain /