Late season Comma butterfly

Last year was a fabulous one for Eastern Comma butterflies, which seemed to be in residence from early spring through mid-fall. Not so this year: Polygonia comma—the butterfly gets its name from the silver, comma-shaped mark on the cryptically colored front of the hind wing—was one of many species that were conspicuous by their general absence. Experts have told me that this is simply the nature of lepidopteran population dynamics, which ebb and fall, often to the beat of an unknown drummer. Just as I was going to close the book on the possibility of Commas in 2013, one showed up on an ebbing fall leaf. The butterfly appeared to be remarkably fresh, as if it had just emerged from a cocoon. Perhaps, in fact, it was a late bloomer; flying for a short while and then looking for a suitable hiding place in which to spend the winter. That said, it might also be passing through on migration south. It may not look nearly as fresh when it arrives at its destination.