rare abberration

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Areas Covered in the survey

Butterfly Survey 1976-2020

Comma

(polygonia c-album) 55mm

The butterfly gets its name from the 'c' shaped mark on the underwing that looks uncannily like a bird's dropping against a beautiful camouflaged ground. Locally, the comma appears to have taken over from the small tortoiseshell and peacock as the commonest of the overwintering Nymphalidae to appear in Spring. This is probably due to the lack of woodland management providing better conditions for the larval foodplant.* A brighter abberant appears with a much plainer underwing - so called hutchinsonia.

var hutchinsonia

Habit: Territorial. In spring the butterfly can be found along on rough land and well sheltered paths generally facing south towards the weak sun. The Comma can be seen from early March onwards. Any fleeting sight of an orangy brown shadow like aerial form is likely to be a comma butterfly. In summer, from about late June onwards, the butterfly is much more obvious; conspicuously displaying its golden topwing, or flying up from its sunny perch and quickly returning - after having been disturbed, or in pursuit of an intruder.

Double brooded: over-winters as a butterfly - the larvae is typically spiny and like the butterfly, bears a bird dropping like mark on its back - not communal.

Larval Foodplant: wild hop, stinging nettle, elm, and willow.*

Status: not under threat in our area - numbers steady year by year but following the overall decline in invertebrates.

WH - White Hill Shoreham, BC - Bromley Common, BIC-Bickley, Kes - Keston, Ha - Hayes --BN - Bromley North - Ey Eynsford - Orp-Orpington, FACK - Fackenden Down and Bank

Thanks to Howard Walmsley and David Davis, Fred O'Hare

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 ©Rodney Compton