Polygonia c-album - The Comma

 The Comma 

By Lachlan Royle

UEA's campus is home to at least 18 species of Butterfly, one of those species is the comma. This is a particularly distinctive Butterfly due to its ragged edged wing pattern that almost makes it look as if it has been mauled by a predator. Instead this is actually a method of camouflage allowing the comma to blend in with dead leaves. It is a very common species of Butterfly that can be seen year round in the UK. It is mostly an orang butterfly with speckles of brown adorning it. The best place to see a comma is woodland edges and verges, at UEA in particular I have found them to be particularly numerous in the wooded area down behind NEWSCI towards Colney playing fields. Intriguingly there are noticeable differences between commas that emerge earlier in the year as their colouration is often much paler. These paler form commas will then go on to have a second brood whereas the later emerging darker individuals will overwinter in the UK. Comma caterpillars are cleverly disguised as bird droppings in order to avoid predation. 

The main source of food for comma caterpillars is nettle leaves however they will also frequently consume willow, elm and currants. Adults obviously feed on nectar but are particularly fond of thistle and knapweed flowers. In order to increase the chance of fertilization a female comma will mate with multiple males and are actually able to distinguish the difference between males that have fed on high quality plants versus those that have been feeding off lower quality plants, naturally choosing the former to mate with. When the harsher winter weather comes the comma will hibernate in wooded areas usually in hollowed trees or log piles. Comma's are something of a UK success story as in the 1800's they were almost entirely restricted to small patches in Wales due to a decline in the farming of hop, at the time a favoured food of the commas. Since then however it is suggested they have adapted their taste to prefer nettles and as such have thrived now becoming widespread across the UK. The warming climate is only projected to further increase this expansion.