The Diana fritillary (Speyeria diana) and great spangled fritillary (S. cybele): Dependence on fire in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas

The Diana fritillary (Speyeria diana), a species of conservation concern throughout its range, and the great spangled fritillary (S. cybele) both occur in the Ouachita Mountains of west-central Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. Both species depend on abundant, high quality nectar resources to support populations. Decades of intense fire suppression have greatly altered vegetation structure throughout the Ouachita Mountains resulting in profound ecological changes. In an effort to restore pre-European ecological relationships and biodiversity, managers are restoring shortleaf pine-bluestem communities with the use of frequent prescribed fire. Restored sites support greater abundances of nectar resources and Speyeria diana and S. cybele than fire suppressed controls.