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polygonia c album
This was my second butterfly spotting of the day (well hour) and I was very pleased to see it as Commas were in great decline and were once only found on the welsh borders (which are about 3 hours drive or 170miles) from where I live. This seems to be one of the species bucking the trend for dwindling habitat loss and has considerably expanded its range. It looks a bit like a tatty leaf from the underside which provides excellent camouflage from predators and I assume it got its name from the inverted white 'c' on its lower wing. I noticed it fly past me and watched it land but my camera seemed to think the twig nearby was more interesting so the first shot of the dorsal view wasn't in focus but thought I would include it to give an idea of colour which is like a rusty orange speckled with brown.
seen in local woodlands, predominatly Oak and Birch with a lot of bramble.
Endemic to England and Wales.
Spotted on Apr 15, 2013
Submitted on Apr 15, 2013
3 Comments
If I hadnt seen it fly past and land Randp I would never have spotted it as it did blend in so well!! Thanks
Amazing how it blends in!
not hard to see how this one got its common name!