oreas comma ~ 05/28/14 ~ Hatton Canyon

oreas comma

Polygonia oreas oreas (formerly Polygonia progne)

posted 06/30/14 - I only knew which anglewing this was (the other one found at Hatton is the lighter satyr comma), because Chris Tenney told me.  I think he's proud of the oreas being here.  For some reason, outside of our local area the hoary comma, aka zephyr anglewing (Polygonia gracilis zephyrus) is reported.  During the Monterey Butterfly Count on June 7, Paul Johnson took a picture of the first reported hoary comma in recent memory, and it's also lighter than shown above.  There was much trading of photographs and opinions.  I think telling them apart is quite confusing, and the flux of taxonomy shows it confuses the experts, too.

satyr comma ~ 05/28/14 ~ Carmel Valley Road

satyr comma

Polygonia satyrus satyrus

(Shapiro, Tenney, Walker)

posted 06/13/14 - We found this in a small canyon behind the table rock horse stables on the north side of Carmel Valley Road.  The location is in the general vicinity as Hatton Canyon (satyr and oreas) and Santa Lucia Preserve (oreas and zephyr).  Note overall light appearance and 4 pairs of spots closest to the body on both the fore and hindwings on this individual.  Too bad I didn't also get a picture of its comma mark, but that's the way it usually happens for me.  I don't have a whole lot of patience waiting to take perfect pictures.

satyr comma ~ 05/31/13 ~ Hatton Canyon

 satyr comma

Polygonia satyrus

more information

It's always a thrill for me when I can get close enough to a comma butterfly to actually see the bright white comma mark on the underside of the hindwing.  We also spotted an oreas comma (Polygonia oreas, aka Polygonia progne oreas, more information) at Hatton Canyon, and I had hoped my second picture above was from that sighting.  Nope.  From the topside, the satyr comma has a black spot smack in the center of the hindwing, underneath the two spots along the leading margin.  It's easier to tell the difference between the two from the underside. The oreas is almost dark grey and the comma mark is shaped more like a boomerang, rather than the fish hook of the satyr.  There's really so many subtle variations of Polygonia in North America that these descriptions wouldn't necessarily work when comparing to other spp.

satyr comma ~ 07/27/11 ~ Butano

satyr comma
Polygonia satyrus

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.?