the forewings | Winged Beauty Butterflies

Common Wood Nymph Butterfly photographed by Jeff Zablow in Clay Pond, NY

The Wood Nymph butterfly on the left was seen in Clay Pond Refuge, near Frewsburg, New York.

The Wood Nymph butterfly on the right was seen in Raccoon Creek State Park in Hookstown, Pennsylvania.

Frewsburg is a 3-hour drive north of Hookstown.

The stark difference in absence of yellow patch on the forewings and presence of large yellow patch on forewings fascinates me. Populations living some 200 miles apart, and Big differences in coloration/’eyes.’

I’ll long remember seeing the Wood Nymph butterflies of Raystown Lake in Central Pennsylvania. They had Huge patches of very bright yellow! When Barbara Ann (“OBM) introduced me to Clay Pond, and I met the yellow-less butterfly seen above, Wow! was I puzzled.

Dang! I wish I was a student again, so much to explore/study.

Jeff

Sophisticated dots, splashes, chevrons, and oh so much more in this common butterfly of the forest edge. Our state parks, county parks and U.S. refuges and parks all maintain cut paths that meander around forest edges. This is the chosen habitat of this butterfly, the Gray Comma.

A speedster, it another of those butterflies that will allow you to approach within 15 feet and will then fly 20 feet away. When you reappraoch, this routine is repeated. After 2 or 3 more episodes, it’ll fly up into a tree and 5 minutes later it’s back to where it started. Whew!

This one was sunning itself on a leaf at 8:50 A.M., raising its body temperature to the optimum for flight. And its a fast one.

Why has it been named a Comma? Each of the forewings has a whitish mark (below) that reasonably resembles- you guessed it: a comma!

I cannot recall ever having seen one nectaring on a flower. If they don’t drink nectar, how do they get their nutrition?

Jeffrey