Common at Donner and Castle Peak; irregular and perhaps not resident at Lang. A species of cool, moist forest and forest edges (not meadows, despite the common name); often seen along wood roads and trails, often through Lodgepole Pine. A puddler and frequent flower visitor, including white-flowered Ceanothus among its favorites. One brood, June-August. Host plants violets (genus Viola; preferences undetermined). This is the only small Fritillary in California; there are numerous others in the Arctic and Subarctic and in the Rocky Mountains.