Dianas require high-quality nectar sources as adults, such as purple coneflower, butterfly milkweed, ironweed, and thistle. Adults will also visit animal dung and carcasses.

Dianas have a fascinating life cycle. They are dependent upon violets as their caterpillar’s host plant. When the first-instar larvae hatch in the fall, they immediately find a place to hibernate through the winter. They emerge in the spring when violet foliage is present, and feed nocturnally, resting off the host plant during the day. Pupation takes place in late April or early May, with male adults flying in late May. Males emerge two-three weeks before females. Mating occurs mid-June to mid-July.

Dianas are long-lived butterflies, usually four-five months as adults. Being cold-blooded insects, they additionally cannot withstand the intense heat of summer. For these two reasons, Dianas typically aestivate through much of August. Females are usually seen more than males in September.

Will you see a Diana during the Butterfly Festival? Maybe. Both sexes are active in June. Dianas are not commonly seen, and are considered a sensitive species. Where are you most likely to see them? Along the forest edges and highways where nectar plants like the ones mentioned above are growing in abundance in Mt. Magazine State park late spring and summer.

Carlton, C. E. and L. Spencer Nobles. 1996. Distribution of Speyeria diana (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in the highlands of Arkansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma, with comments on conservation. Ent. News. 107(4): 213-219.

Moran, M.D., and C.D. Baldridge. 2002. Distribution of the Diana Fritillary, Speyeria diana (Nymphalidae) in Arkansas, with notes on nectar plant and habitat preference. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Soc. 56(3): 162-165.