Wednesday, July 27, 2011

satyr comma ~ 07/27/11 ~ Butano


It's rare that I spot a comma butterfly resting long enough to confirm the silvery white comma mark on the underside of its hindwings. Notice how the color of the wings looks very similar to the dead parts of the leaves. Usually when I notice them, they're flying by so fast in an erratic, zig-zaggy, rapid wing beat manner that I can only guess it's a comma. There are several species of Polygonia in North America, including one that has a dot at the end of the curvy mark called, you guessed it, a question mark (Polygonia interrogationis).

ps - I'm waiting for Graeme at Imperfect and tense to make a good pun out of this one.

pss 06/13/14 - I've been looking closely at the shapes of the comma marks.  Note the rounder shape of the white comma here compared to the satyr found in the Monterey area.  Different ssp.?

2 comments:

Imperfect and Tense said...

Oh, the pressure of having to perform! It looks like I've got stage fright, all mental processes have come to a full stop.

I'm waiting for the day when I can photograph one of these butterflies roosting under a leaf. An inverted Comma.

I'll get my coat...

Katie (Nature ID) said...

Haha! Thanks for the smile.