Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Why a comma?

Eastern Comma - Dorsal View


Eastern Comma- Ventral View
Why a comma I wondered?  Names do matter and it seemed an odd one until I turned my little butterfly over.  One of the most interesting things about butterflies is the difference in the appearance of the frontside and the backside.  So when I unpinned my butterfly, I looked at both sides.  On the side that is visible when the wings are held open, the dorsal side, I saw the colorful Eastern Comma.  When I turned it over to see the the side you see when the wings are held closed over the body, the ventral side, I was happily surprised.  As you can see the ventral side is brownish and leaf-like, surely to help for camouflage, and there they were on the two lower  or hindwings—tiny commas, slightly silvery in appearance.  Like all commas, they made me pause. 



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