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Information

The Comma (Polygonia c-album) is a species of butterfly, common in the United Kingdom and with a distribution across Europe and temperate Asia to Japan and south to Morocco. Similar species are found in the United States and Canada. It has a white marking on its underwings resembling a comma.

In the 19th century the British population of comma butterflies crashed, and by 1920 there were only two sightings. The cause for this decline is unknown, and from about 1930 the population recovered and it is now one of the more familiar butterflies in Southern England, and is now resident in Scotland and in North Wales.

In Northern Ireland, the comma butterfly is rarer than in other places, only being found in a few sites since 1997-1998 when it was spotted in only two locations and again in 2008 when it was spotted in another area.

The name of this butterfly has changed over the years before it was named the Comma. It was first known as "Tortoise-Shell with jagged wings" Ray (1710) and then Petiver in 1717 named it "Silver, Pale, Jagged-Wing and Small Commas" The "Pale Comma" was described from the form known today as "Hutchinsoni" because of its ochreous underside colour. In 1441-42, Wilkes called it the Comma Butterfly, as did Harris in 1776 and other authors and the name stood.

Similar Species

Southern Comma (Polygonia egea), Milbert's Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis milberti), Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), Hoary Comma (Polygonia gracilis), Asian Comma (Polygonia c-aureum), Scarce Tortoiseshell or Yellow-Legged Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis xanthomelas), Green Comma (Polygonia faunus)

Known Aberrations

ab. carbonaria, ab. c-extinctum, ab. delta-album, ab. dilutus, ab. extincta, ab. g-album, ab. i-album, ab. imperfecta, ab. iota-album, ab. neole, ab. nigracastanea, ab. o-album, ab. obscura, ab. reichstettensis, ab. sagitta-album, ab. suffusa, ab. variegata, Few unnamed abs

Adult Images
Image/Page Link	Date Taken	Taken By
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. I have never seen one of these before and thought it was a small tortoiseshell. This was until I got home and my son David said it was a comma. Not only that, but the first recorded sighting in this area since 1998 or so. Taken with my Vivitar 4345 on 07/05/2008	07/05/2008	James McCormick
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. I bred this from caterpillars I had. This was just emerged from its pupae and was feeding on the sweat on my dads hand. The antennae on the right side of the butterfly is bending under the wing if you look, just in case anyone thinks it had one antennae. I took this with my Canon 400D and Sigma 105mm Macro Lens 23/08/2008	18/08/2008	David McCormick
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. I bred this from caterpillars I had. This was one that had not long emerged from pupae and was resting. It had a dark underside which would have been hard to see on a tree or dark area when resting. I took this with my Canon 400D and Sigma 105mm Macro Lens 25/08/2008	18/08/2008	David McCormick

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Mating Images

None

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Caterpillar Images

The caterpillars will feed up on hops, and they will also eat stinging nettle, elm or currant leaves, and in other parts of its distribution (e.g. in Sweden) also sallow and birch leaves.

Caterpillar Images
Image/Page Link	Date Taken	Taken By
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Here is an early instar Comma caterpillar. I had a few of these and bred them on elm leaves and hop. This one does actually look like a bird dropping because of its blackish/brown and white colouration. I took this with my Canon 400D and Sigma 105mm Macro Lens on 20/06/2008	18/08/2008	David McCormick
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Here is an early instar Comma caterpillar. I had a few of these and bred them on elm leaves and hop. This one does actually look like a bird dropping because of its blackish/brown and white colouration. This is a view of one from above. I took this with my Canon 400D and Sigma 105mm Macro Lens on 20/06/2008	18/08/2008	20/06/2008
Information   Location: Mountstewart, Co Down, Northern Ireland. Here is a final instar comma caterpillar. It is one of the most interesting butterfly caterpillars found in the UK I find, especially with the eyespots and colours. I bred this one on hop. If you look, at the bottom right you can see white spines of another caterpillar that was hiding. I took this with my Horizon HD Video Camera in July 2008. I don't have an exact date for this.	July 2008	David McCormick

(c) David McCormick 2009