Melitaea

Melitaea is a genus of butterflies, family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae, tribe Melitaeini, established by Fabricius in 1807 with Papilio cinxia, the Glanville fritillary, as the type species; the genus comprises approximately 85 species organized into five main groups, didyma, cinxia, minerva, phoebe and Mellicta, and is primarily Eurasian, with species found across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Common names include fritillaries, with individual species carrying names such as the Glanville fritillary, spotted fritillary and knapweed fritillary; the genus displays the distinctive checkered patterning characteristic of fritillary butterflies. The genus now includes what was previously considered the separate genus Mellicta, treated as a subgenus to avoid paraphyly, and its classification remains somewhat fluid with ongoing debate over whether additional lineages warrant elevation to full genus status.