Agraulis

Agraulis is a genus of butterflies, family Nymphalidae, subfamily Heliconiinae, monotypic with a single living species, the Gulf fritillary, also called the passion butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, sometimes treated in other taxonomies as Dione vanillae. A bright orange butterfly with long, narrow wings typical of the longwing butterflies of its subfamily, it occurs most commonly in the southern United States, especially Florida and Texas, with a range extending through the Americas south to Argentina and an introduced population in Hawaii. Gulf fritillaries release odorous chemicals in response to predator sightings as a chemical defense, and males use pheromones during courtship that contribute to mate choice in females; Carl Linnaeus originally named the species in 1758, and it was moved to the genus Agraulis in 1835.