Eastern comma butterfly

I thought today would be the first dragonfly day, and I headed out to the Henne preserve hopeful of coming home with the first ode pictures of the year. Alas, this mission proved a failure, for the local odonate larvae have yet to be tempted into metamorphosis. But other insects are not so shy about taking to the air, and on my journey, I spotted a mated pair of Spring Azures and a pretty shopworn Mourning Cloak, both species of which wintered over as adults and have been flying for several weeks. This Eastern Comma butterfly is another adult overwinterer, and it's the first member of the Polygonia comma clan I've seen this spring. Commas are pretty common around here, and they come in two forms: one that spends the summers with us, and the other born in August and September that is known as the winter form. It's the one that has the wherewithal to hibernate successfully, and it's that winter form we're seeing now basking in the sunshine and scanning the woods for potential mates.