Comma

Polygonia c-album

The Comma is a species of butterfly belonging to the family Nymphalidae. Its irregular wing edges are characteristic of the "Polygonia" genus, which is why they are commonly called anglewings. It is found in northern Africa and across Europe from Portugal through Asia as far as Japan. Its dorsal wings are colourful but its underside has a pattern that camouflages it when its wings are held together.
Polygonia c-album Arthropods,Comma,Insects,Macro,Polygonia c-album,butterflies

Appearance

"Polygonia c-album" has a wingspan of about 45 millimetres. The underside of the wings of this butterfly are a dull brown colour, with a small white 'C' shaped marking resembling a comma. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge, apparently a cryptic form as the butterfly resembles a fallen leaf.

These butterflies hibernate, so they could be seen all around the year, but the active flying period extends from April to November, depending on location. Adults feed on nectar, mainly of Thistles, but also on Bramble, Ivy, Knapweeds, and Privet.

Females lay up to 275 green eggs, which turn yellow and ultimately grey before hatching. The caterpillars are also cryptic. They are black and white, resembling a bird dropping. In the U.K the larvae feed on Hop, Common Nettle, Elm, and Blackcurrant; in other parts of its distribution it also feeds on Sallow, "Corylus avellana" and Birch.

The species survives the winter in the adult stage, and adults are of two forms. The form that overwinters before reproducing has dark undersides of the wings, resembling a dead leaf, a perfect camouflage throughout the winter. The majority of the offspring have this dark form.

The form that develops directly to sexual maturity has lighter coloured wing undersides. Both forms can arise from eggs laid by the same female, depending mainly on the photoperiods experienced by the larvae, but also with an influence of host plants, temperature, and sex of individuals.
Polygonia c-album aka “Comma” This is probably one of the easiest to identify species of butterfly in Europe, especially when the underside is visible like in this photo. Not only can you see the name-giving "Comma" (in the German common name, it's simply a "C"), but also the silhouette is very characteristic - it always reminds me of an artistic paper-cutting. The colour of the underside can vary from light / golden brown or yellowish to grey and even very dark brown. Comma,Falter,Geotagged,Polygonia c-album,Schmetterling,Schweiz,Summer,Switzerland,Tiere,butterfly,mariposa

Naming

*"P. c. c-album" Europe
⤷ "P. c. imperfecta" North Africa
⤷ "P. c. extensa" West China, Central China
⤷ "P. c. kultukensis" Kleinschmidt, 1929 Transbaikalia
⤷ "P. c. hamigera" Ussuri
⤷ "P. c. koreana" Bryk, 1946 Korea
⤷ "P. c. sachalinensis" Matsumura, 1915 Sakhalin
⤷ "P. c. asakurai" Taiwan
⤷ "P. c. agnicula" Nepal
Polygonia_c-album Comma butterfly landed in a wet meadow. Limousin, France. Robert-le-Diable posé dans une prairie humide. Limousin, France. Animal,Butterfly,Comma,Comma Butterfly,France,Insecta,Lepidoptera,Macro,Nature,Nymphalidae,Nymphalinae,Nymphalis c-album,Polygonia c-album,Robert-le-diable

Distribution

"Polygonia c-album" ranges across Europe and temperate Asia to Japan and south to Morocco. Similar species are found in the United States and Canada.
Comma - Polygonia c-album Silsombos, June 2014. Belgium,Comma,Geotagged,Polygonia c-album,Spring

Habitat

This species prefers open woodland, wood edges, country lanes and gardens.
White Comma butterfly top (Polygonia c-album) Dutch name: Gehakkelde aurelia Comma,Geotagged,Polygonia c-album,The Netherlands

Evolution

In the 19th century, the British population of the Comma crashed; the cause for this decline is unknown, but from about 1930 the population recovered and the Comma is now one of the more familiar butterflies in Southern England, and is also resident in Scotland and in North Wales.

References:

Some text fragments are auto parsed from Wikipedia.