Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Eastern Comma’

Eastern Comma butterfly

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on September 4, 2025| 3 Comments »

Throughout the summer I have did not spot very many butterflies—maybe they were as uncomfortable in the midday heat and humidity as I was. Now that we are in September I seem to see them all of the time. One of my favorites that I managed to photograph on Monday at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge was this beautiful Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma).

As many of you know, the Eastern Comma is one of the two “punctuation” butterflies in my area—the other is the Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). The two species are quite similar in appearance, with the arrangement of spots on the wings being the chief means of distinguishing between them.

I love the beautiful orange color of this butterfly, a color that seems to be a perfect match for the autumn season that is either imminent or already upon us, depending on whether you use the astrological calendar or the meteorological calendar. Meteorological autumn begins on September 1 and ends on November 30, providing a consistent three month period for data analysis. Astrologically the autumn season begins at the Autumn Equinox (in the Northern Hemisphere) that is between September 21 and September 24—in 2025 it falls on September 22.

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Autumn contrast

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on October 18, 2022| 11 Comments »

Last Wednesday I spotted this beautiful little Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It struck me that the butterfly’s colors are a perfect match for this autumn season.

I really like this image. When I posted in on my Facebook page, the word “contrast” keep coming up in the comments of my viewers. Some noted the contrast in colors, while others commented on the contrast in textures. I think that the downward-facing pose of the butterfly and the rather unusual shape of its wings also causes people to pause for a moment as their brains try to process what they are seeing.

Years ago I remember reading a post by a fellow blogger, Lyle Krahn, who used the term “stopping power.” Although he was referring to subjects that you found interesting enough that you would stop to take a photo, I think that it applies equally well to viewers. What makes a photo compelling enough that a viewer will stop and examine it, rather than simply scrolling on to the next posting?

We are constantly inundated with visual images that compete for our attention, but so often they affect us only superficially. It is my challenge as a photographer to capture and/or create images that help you to see the world in a different, deeper way, that prompt you to slow down and experience the beauty that surrounds you.

As noted American photographer Dorothea Lange stated, ““The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera.”

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Eastern Comma butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on May 19, 2022| 6 Comments »

I was thrilled to capture this image of an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) during a recent visit to Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. When its wings are closed, this butterfly blends right in with the bark of the trees on which it frequently perches, so it was nice that it chose to perch on some green leaves.

Eastern Comma

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

More glimpses of spring

Posted in Butterflies, Flowers, Nature, Photography, spring, turtle, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on March 25, 2022| 10 Comments »

I note the transition to spring in small ways, quite often in the reappearance of familiar species of plants, insects, and other living creatures. I was delighted on Monday to discover that tiny Virginia Spring Beauty wildflowers (Claytonia virginica) have already started to push their way up from the forest floor in Prince William County. According to Wikipedia, the individual flowers bloom for three days, although the five stamens on each flower are only active for a single day.

On the same day, I spotted an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma), the first full-sized butterfly that I have been able to photograph this year. I was not able to get very close to the butterfly, but you can see the beautiful orange pattern of its inner wings in the middle shot below.

The final image shows a Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) that I spotted last week. This species seems to be found only in shallow marshy areas and I rarely encounter one, so it was exciting to be able to photograph it.

We all celebrate different signs of spring at this time of the year (or of autumn if you live in the Southern Hemisphere). What indications do you look for that signal the change of the season?

Spring Beauty

Eastern Comma

spotted turtle

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

Read Full Post »

Butterflies in November

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2021| 2 Comments »

I am happy to see that some butterflies are still with us as we move deeper into November. Eastern Comma butterflies (Polygonia interrogationis), like the one in first photo, overwinter as adults, rather than as eggs or pupae as most butterflies do, so there is a chance that I will continue to see them for a while longer if the weather does not get too bad.

Common Buckeyes (Junonia coenia), like the one in the second photo, cannot tolerate cold temperatures. Some of them, according to Wikipedia, migrate to the south for the winter and then return when the weather warms up in the spring.

I was most surprised this week to spot the Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) in the final photo—it had been a month or so since I had last seen a Black Swallowtail. This species spends the winter in the chrysalis stage, and adults emerge in the spring to seek out host plants.

We are nearing the end of the butterfly season, but I am delighted to share my walks in nature with these fragile little creatures for a little while longer.

Eastern Comma

Common Buckeye

Black Swallowtail

 

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Eastern Comma in July

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, tagged , , , , , , on July 20, 2021| 4 Comments »

Here’s a glimpse of a pretty little Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) that I spotted last Friday while visiting Riverbend Park on the Potomac River in Virginia. The Eastern Comma is one of a pair of woodland butterflies sometimes referred to as the punctuation butterflies—the other butterfly is the Question Mark butterfly.

The easiest way to distinguish between the two butterflies is to look at the white markings in the middle of the hind wings. If, as is the case here, there is a single curved line, then it is an Eastern Comma butterfly. If, on the other hand, there is a curved line and a dot, it is a Question Mark butterfly. (Check out my September 2020 posting Question Mark in September if you are interested in comparing the two sets of markings.)

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

 

Read Full Post »

First spring butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 5, 2020| 20 Comments »

Yesterday was a beautiful spring-like day and I went on a long hike at Prince William Forest Park, the largest protected natural area in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region at over 16,000 acres. It felt like the perfect weather for finding dragonflies, but it is still a bit too early for them.

I was, however, quite excited to get my first shots this year of a butterfly, an Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma). I saw my first butterfly, which was probably of the same species, a couple of weeks ago, but was unable to react quickly enough to take its photo, so it did not “count.” During yesterday’s hike, I spotted six or seven of these little butterflies, but only the first one was cooperative enough to stay still for a portrait.

Eastern Comma butterflies are members a small group of butterflies in our area that emerge in the autumn and overwinter as adults. Other species in that group including the similar-looking Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) and the Mourning Cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa). When its wings are open, like the one in the photo, it is easy to tell that a butterfly is an Eastern Comma if it has three dark spots in a row on each of its front wings, rather than the four spots found on a Question Mark. (For more information about the two similar species, I recommend a wonderful article at trekohio.com entitled “Butterflies That Punctuate: The Eastern Comma and the Question Mark.”)

Eastern Comma

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Butterfly in February

Posted in Butterflies, Insects, Nature, Photography, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , on February 28, 2019| 5 Comments »

Today I saw my first butterfly of the year, an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) that was flying about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Members of this species overwinter as adults and may emerge form their hibernation for brief periods during winter warm spells.

It is not yet spring, but more and more signs point to the fact that it is just around the corner.

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Downward-facing Comma

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , on October 10, 2016| 4 Comments »

The beautiful orange and brown colors of this Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) that I recently spotted at Huntley Meadows Park make it a perfect symbol of this autumn season. This species seems to like to perch on trees, sometimes facing downward, as was the case this time.

Not long ago I did a posting that featured a Question Mark butterfly, a species that closely resembles this one, but the relatively clear white marking on the hind wing make me think this is an Eastern Comma butterfly. My recent record in correctly identifying butterflies has not been great, however, so I welcome a correction if my identification is incorrect.

It is not immediately apparent from this image, but Eastern Comma butterflies blend in really well with the bark of the trees. The sun was shining through the wings from behind, making the orange color of the inner wings much more prominent than usual, allowing us to see both the colors and the shape of this beautiful butterfly.

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Question Mark butterfly?

Posted in Autumn, Butterflies, Insects, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 4, 2016| 12 Comments »

There are a lot of fallen leaves scattered all about my neighborhood and at first I thought this butterfly was merely one of them. Then it opened its wings, revealing its inner beauty. Wow!

I am pretty sure this is a Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis), though there is also a chance that it might be an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma). Yes, there are butterflies named after punctuation marks.

How do you tell them apart? Well. there is a little white marking on the wings and if it has a single part, it’s a comma, and if it has two parts, it’s a question mark. My challenge in this case was that the marking was not very distinctive. I looked through a lot of material and photos on the internet and the wing shape and coloration started to push me toward the Question Mark, but I still had questions. I came across a posting by TrekOhio.com that illustrated the differences in the spots on the inner wings and I convinced myself the spots in the second photo look like those of a Question Mark.

Whatever the case, the butterfly’s resemblance to a fallen leaf and its beautiful orange color are reminders to me that autumn is surely here, my favorite time of the year.

Question Mark butterfly

Question Mark butterfly

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Halloween Butterfly

Posted in Butterflies, Halloween, Nature, Photography, tagged , , , , , , , on October 31, 2015| 5 Comments »

Earlier this month I spotted a butterfly with perfect colors for Halloween and it was perched upside down in a way that reminded me of a bat. (Take a close look at its shadow.)

It’s not really called a Halloween Butterfly—I sometimes like to make up my own names for the creatures that I see and photograph. It was a cool, but sunny day when I came upon the butterfly, which was completely stretched out, basking in the warmth of the sun’s rays. I wasn’t sure it was alive, until it flew away when I moved in a little closer after some initial shots.

The unusual wing shape made me think it was either an Eastern Comma or a Question Mark butterfly—yes, there are butterflies named after punctuation marks—but I wasn’t sure which one. After a little research on line, I’m convinced that it is probably an Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma). According to a posting on Trekohio.com, Eastern Comma butterflies have three dark spots in a row on their front wings, while Question Mark butterflies have four spots.

Why am I seeing a butterfly this late in the season? Eastern Comma butterflies overwinter as adults. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Field Station posting described the process in this way, “They overwinter in cracks and crevices in rocks and trees. There, they certainly freeze, becoming butterfly-sicles, but their blood contains glycogens – antifreeze – that allow their tissues to withstand the winter’s cycles of freezing and thawing.”

In spring, the un-dead arise again.

Happy Halloween.

Eastern Comma

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

Read Full Post »

Eastern Comma

Posted in Art, Butterflies, Macro Photography, Nature, Photography, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , , on September 9, 2013| 6 Comments »

It’s rare that I actually welcome an insect landing on me, which is usually a prelude to it biting me, but I was really happy when this Eastern Comma butterfly (Polygonia comma) decided it like the way that I tasted.

It initially landed right on my chest and began to lick my shirt and then moved over to the messenger bag in which I carry my camera gear. I carefully removed the bag and was able to get these shots while the Eastern Comma kept busy licking away my accumulated sweat (my apologies to those with delicate sensibilities, but these butterflies don’t land on pretty flowers and instead generally feed on the less photogenic sap, rotting fruit, and dung).

Normally this butterfly blends in well with its environment and is hard to see, but I guess that we would all agree that a blue Adidas bag is not its natural environment. It was also surprisingly easy to identify the butterfly. Last year I agonized in trying to decide if a butterfly I had photographed was a Question Mark or a Comma—the difference is in the shape of the white marking. Yes, those are actually the names of the butterflies. Who makes up these names? It’s the kind of job that I would enjoy.

I haven’t found any other insects named for punctuation marks, but won’t be surprised to find that there is an Asterisk caterpillar or an Ampersand beetle.

comma1_blogcomma2_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

Read Full Post »