High Brown Fritillary
Fabriciana adippe
National Status
The long-term trend shows a significant decline in both distribution and abundance. The High Brown Fritillary is Britain's most threatened butterfly species.
West Midlands Status
There are sadly no longer places in the region where one can see High Browns as they are now extinct.
10 Year Trend Analysis
Habitat
The species is associated with woodland clearings and also with bracken-dominated habitats. However both habitats become unsuitable if ungrazed, or without any form of bracken management, because the ground flora and food plants cannot penetrate the deep litter that builds up.
Caterpillar Food Plant
The primary food plant is Common Dog-violet.
Life Cycle
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Egg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Larva | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pupa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adult | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Flight Period
The butterfly has a single generation each year with the adults flying throughout June and until the end of July.
First/Last Sightings 2026
| First Sighting | Recorded by | Last Sighting | Recorded by |
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Distribution Map
Key
Total number of sightings per tetrad
Hotspots
Historically the stronghold was the Wyre Forest and the Malverns but there were also significant populations in Ragleth Wood, Shropshire in Victorian times. Up until the end of the twentieth century there were several locations on Herefordshire Commons.