I am no expert photographer, preferring to capture the moment than get a perfectly composed shot. The pictures on my blog are either taken with a compact Canon, a Panasonic Lumix FZ150 or on my phone.




Sunday, 4 August 2019

Comma, Polygonia c-album

On 26th April, while I was watching other butterflies, a Comma landed on a nettle next to me and laid an egg. I marked the spot, so that I could watch the progress of the egg.



Three weeks later, I noticed that I could see the form of the caterpillar inside the egg, so I thought I should pick the nettle stem and keep it in a container, so that I could keep a closer eye on it.

Two days later there was just a little ring where the egg had been. The caterpillar had hatched and eaten its egg shell. I looked under the leaf and there was a little caterpillar, less than 2mm long. I decided to call him Colin the Comma!

I watched the caterpillar grow and change over the next few days.






Sadly, on 11 June I found it lying on the soil in the pot of nettles it had been living on. After careful inspection of the nettles I found a spider on the same leaf that the caterpillar had been living.

I spent hours searching through the nettles at our house close to where I had found Colin and eventually found another Comma caterpillar. This one was smaller than Colin and I think about 4 weeks younger than him. Therefore, I doubt it was a sibling. In the name of equality, I called this one Colette!

On 11 July she was about the same size as Colin had been.

And on 22nd July she turned into a chrysalis. The chrysalis was a beautiful coffee and cream colour scheme, with some amazing shiny silver marks.

On 1st August the chrysalis darkened and started to show the wing markings.

The following afternoon, when I returned home from work there was a Comma butterfly roosting on the side of the net cage. I carefully carried the cage out of the garage and switched on my camera. I slowly unzipped the lid and Colette flew up and out of the narrow gap and away. So, sadly, no picture and no confirmation of whether she was a he or a she!

The egg stage lasted 23 days, the caterpillar 32 days and the chrysalis 12 days. Hopefully, the adult butterfly will hibernate through the winter and be providing a new generation next spring.

12 comments:

  1. I enjoyed seeing this photo series. Well done.

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  2. Gorgeous! I really enjoyed the metamorphosis process of this Comma caterpillar. Besides the egg structure is just amazing. Thank you very much for sharing it!
    Have a lovely day

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    1. Thank you Guillermo. It really is a fascinating process.

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  3. Fascinating saga Nick.Great photography.

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    1. Thank you Peter, Comma caterpillars and chrysalises are amazing-looking.

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  4. Such a wonderful thing to witness. I think we learn more about critters this way.
    I have been holding my hand out with seeds in it. Birds come and take them. I have learned so much more by doing this. Their flight patterns, who is the boss and more. I wish you the best in your new home. Maybe you will share photos of your sightings with us some day.

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    1. Thank you Tammie Lee. I do love observing nature and learning about it. I know many people who are keen to see birds or butterflies and to photograph them, but they don't appear to be interested to learn about their behaviour. I think there is much that we can learn from the natural world.

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  5. ¡Maravilloso reportaje, Nick, me ha encantado ver esa evolución!. Un fuerte abrazo desde Asturias.

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    1. Gracias Belen. Amo cada etapa de la vida de esta mariposa.

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  6. You got the whole process! What I really like is the shape of the chrysalid.

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    1. Thank you Maria. I find every stage of the Comma's life interesting! I love the caterpillar, particularly its final instar.

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