Beautiful Butterflies! #2

Hi everyone and welcome back to another butterfly post! We do have a lot of butterflies around here in the north, though admittedly they don’t exactly rival those found in tropical regions. But, we do like the varieties that we have anyway. Most are fairly small, though not all, and some are quite colorful, though others are more plain. Today we will look at one of which I have had trouble getting a decent photo.

Welcome to the Gray Comma! It is actually a common butterfly, though right around our town I don’t see them very often. They come in two forms, the winter form and summer form. My photo is of the winter form. This one comes out in the fall and overwinters as an adult, coming out again in the spring when the mate and lay eggs which then hatch and the next flight brood begins in mid June.

The Gray Comma butterfly, winter form.

They have a wingspan of 1 1/2 to 2 inches (3 3/4 to 5cm). The summer form is darker and less colorful than the winter form. It can be found along dirt roads, open forests, forest edges, swamps and trails.

I have seen them along the path I used to walk down to the river and that is where I got my photos. They seldom visit flowers, instead going for tree sap, rotting fruit and carrion. They will get moisture and nutrients from wet soil also. Have a wonderful day everyone and God bless!

Steve. ©2026 Steve McLeod.