| Eastern comma | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Polygonia |
| Species: | P. comma |
| Binomial name | |
| Polygonia comma (Harris, 1842) | |
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| Range map showing distribution of the eastern comma | |
| Synonyms | |
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Polygonia comma, the eastern comma, is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae.
This butterfly is seasonally variable. The upperside of the summer form's hindwings are all black, whereas the winter forms hindwings are reddish orange. The underside of both forms is striped with dark and light brown. There is a silvery comma mark in the middle of the hindwing in both forms. Its wingspan is 4.5–6.4 cm (1.8–2.5 in).
The eastern comma may be spotted in woods near rivers, ponds, marshes, swamps, and other water sources.
This butterfly seldom visits flowers, but rather feeds on sap, rotting fruit, salts and minerals from puddling, and dung.
Caterpillars feed on paper birch ( Betula papyrifera ), false nettle ( Boehmeria cylindrica ), hackberry ( Celtis occidentalis ), hops ( Humulus ), wood nettle ( Laportea canadensis ), currants and gooseberries ( Ribes spp.), basswood ( Tilia americana ), American elm ( Ulmus americana ), nettle ( Urtica ), [2] and clearweed ( Pilea pumila ). [3]
The green eggs are laid singly or in stacks under host plant leaves and stems. The spiny larva varies in color from pale green to yellow to white and to even black. The solitary larva feeds on leaves at night. Older larvae construct daytime leaf shelters by pulling a single leaf together with silk. The chrysalis is brown and covered with spines. Winter-form adults overwinter; [4] some will also migrate south for the winter.
The dark form of comma is frequently confused with the dark form of the question mark (P. interrogationis), but the two can readily be distinguished by the shape of the comma mark on the underside. The pale form is easily confused with the satyr comma (P. satyrus), which usually occurs north and west of the eastern comma's range. They can be distinguished by the upperside color, which is orange brown in the comma and tawny yellowish brown in P. satyrus; by the underside pattern, which tends to be mottled in the comma but appears to be more longitudinally streaked in P. satyrus; and by the row of pale submarginal spots on the hindwing upperside, which tend to be separate and surrounded by dark shading in comma, but are larger and tend to run together into a pale band in P. satyrus.
The silver-washed fritillary is a common and variable butterfly found over much of the Palearctic realm – Algeria, Europe and across the Palearctic to Japan.
Polygonia c-album, the comma, is a food generalist (polyphagous) butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. The angular notches on the edges of the forewings are characteristic of the genus Polygonia, which is why species in the genus are commonly referred to as anglewing butterflies. Comma butterflies can be identified by their prominent orange and dark brown/black dorsal wings.
The brown hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The range includes most of the Palaearctic.
The purple hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae distributed throughout much of Europe, North Africa, Anatolia, Caucasia, and Transcaucasia. The larva feeds on Quercus robur, Quercus petraea, Quercus cerris and Quercus ilex.
The white-letter hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Lycaena phlaeas, the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name phlaeas is said to be derived either from the Greek φλέγω (phlégo), "to burn up", or from the Latin floreo, "to flourish".
The Adonis blue is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm.
Vanessa indica, called the Indian red admiral or the Asian admiral in the United States, is a butterfly found in the higher altitude regions of India, primarily the Himalayas and the Nilgiri Hills. It is also found in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, China, Korea, SE Russia, Japan. It is a close relative of the painted lady.
Ariadne merione, the common castor, is an orange butterfly with brown lines whose larvae feed almost exclusively on castor. It is similar in appearance to Ariadne ariadne, the angled castor.
Euthalia aconthea, the common baron, often called simply baron, is a medium-sized nymphalid butterfly native to Sri Lanka, India and southeast Asia. It flies with stiff wing beats and often glides. The wing is not flapped very far below the horizontal.
Matapa aria, the common redeye, is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Hesperiidae. It is found in India and Southeast Asia.
The Zabulon skipper is a North American butterfly first described by the French naturalists Jean Baptiste Boisduval and John Eatton Le Conte from the state of Georgia, United States.
Polygonia interrogationis, commonly called the question mark butterfly, is a North American nymphalid butterfly. It lives in wooded areas, city parks, generally in areas with a combination of trees and open space. The color and textured appearance of the underside of its wings combine to provide camouflage that resembles a dead leaf. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 4.5–7.6 cm (1.8–3.0 in). Its flight period is from May to September. "The silver mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved line and a dot, creating a ?-shaped mark that gives the species its common name."
The scarce copper is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.
Pantoporia hordonia, the common lascar, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in Cambodia, tropical and subtropical Asia.
Libythea celtis, the European beak or nettle-tree butterfly, is a butterfly of the Libytheinae group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Polygonia egea, the southern comma, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in southern Europe.
Agathymus neumoegeni is commonly referred to as the orange giant-skipper, Neumogen's giant-skipper, Neumogen's agave borer, Neumogen's moth-skipper, and tawny giant-skipper.
Polygonia faunus, the green comma, Faunus comma, or Faunus anglewing is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Polygonia satyrus, the satyr comma, is a North American butterfly of the nymphalid family. It is primarily found in western Canada, where it is locally common. It bears a resemblance to Polygonia comma, the eastern comma, with which it is frequently confused. Its caterpillars feed on Urtica dioica, stinging nettle.
