Comma Butterfly
Comma Butterfly
Insect
An orange butterfly with deeply ragged wing edges and a tiny white comma mark beneath. Folded shut, it vanishes among dead leaves as it hibernates through winter.
💡 Fun Facts
- The Comma is named after the small white 'comma' mark on the underside of each wing.
- Its ragged, scalloped wing edges make it look exactly like a crinkled dead leaf when it rests, a brilliant disguise.
- The caterpillar is a clever copycat too, looking just like a bird dropping so predators leave it alone.
📅 Through the Year
- Hibernation:November to February
- Active:March to October
Name Story
Polygonia c-album
means “many-angled, with a white C”
What does its name mean?
- Polygonia — many-angledGreek polys ‘many’ + gonia ‘angle’
- c-album — white CLatin c (the letter) + album ‘white’
Its wing edges are cut into jagged angles, as if snipped with scissors, and on the underside sits a tiny white mark shaped just like the letter C — the signature that gives it its name.