Observation of the Week: July 1 - 7, 2023

The ninth OOTW for 2023 is this Gray Comma, seen by Harleen (@Hark0x0). This is the first time we have featured the Gray Comma as the OOTW!

Harleen shared these thoughts about the species:
“I found the Grey Comma in my garden. Each morning I like to take a little stroll around the house and observe my plants and what kind of little critters are about. I've recently been working on adding native plants to my garden so I am keen (and perhaps a bit impatient haha) to see what sorts of insect life they attract.
The grey comma caught my attention as it fluttered about, flashing its bright orange upper wings. Curious, I followed it until I saw it land on my magnolia tree, which is where I took the photo. It almost seemed to enjoy modelling for me as it turned about in a myriad of positions.”

I can picture exactly what Harleen is depicting, can you? I personally love the comma group of butterflies as I see them less often than other species, partially due to their fantastic ability to camouflage into tree bark with the underside of their wings. When I can spot one, it’s exciting! Harleen caught two great shots of this Gray Comma, one of the underside of the wings (left) and one of the upper side (right).

The Gray Comma is part of the brush-footed family of butterflies and is informally called an “anglewing” because of its uniquely shaped wings. The Question Mark, Eastern Comma, and the Mourning Cloak are other butterflies in this family with uniquely shaped wings.

You may wonder why the Comma and Question Mark species are named after punctuation marks. If you look closely, you can see the ‘comma’ on the underside of the hind wing on the Grey Comma observation (see left photo above). Leave a comment if you found the comma!

The Gray Comma is most often found at the openings and edges of deciduous and mixed forests and chooses gooseberries and azaleas as their host plant. As with other species in the same family, they overwinter as adults. Commas will lay eggs when they emerge in the springtime and fly from June to August. A second brood emerges in October and these butterflies will overwinter as adults.

Want to observe species like the Grey Comma and others? Join us for our butterfly count on Saturday, July 15, 2023 at Warwick Conservation Centre. Last year, we found 21 species of butterflies in just a few brief hours. Learn more and register to attend.

Contest Alert!
Don’t miss the Butterfly Blitz Bingo Challenge! The challenge will run from July 1 to September 13! Here is how to participate:

1. Enroll in the 2023 Butterfly Blitz.
2. Join the 2023 Butterfly Blitz project on iNaturalist.
3. Complete a Butterfly Blitz Bingo row, column, or diagonal line and fill out this form (cvc.ca/ButterflyBingoForm) to be entered into a draw to win an Individual Credit Valley Annual Parks Pass. Complete Contest Rules.

Posted on July 11, 2023 03:59 PM by kristenvalencia