Sunday, May 30, 2010

Butterfly: Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

It’s interesting that I saw Question Marks at the lake at Fort Yargo State Park. I haven’t seen any at home but I do see Eastern Commas. They are down in the woods by the creek. Usually I only see individuals although there were three or four a couple of weeks ago. It was cool in the woods and they were perched on leaves or tree trunks sunning themselves in patches of light which were still warm. Most were perched with open wings to absorb the warmth but one made the mistake of folding its wings.

The butterfly with opened wings. Enjoying the late afternoon sun.

The butterfly with closed wings. This isn’t the best photo in the world but you can just see the comma.
Click on an image to view a larger image


Identification resources:

West Central Georgia Butterflies, Michael Beohm:

- Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)
- Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

Bug Guide:

Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma)

- Dorsal view

- Lateral view

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

- Dorsal view

- Lateral view


Related post:

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

2 comments:

Philip said...

stunning colours on those butterfly's
It really brings out the patterns against the tree :)

JSK said...

Thanks. This was a beautifully colored butterfly. I think that the warmth of the late afternoon sunlight let this come through in the photo.