The hoary comma (''Polygonia gracilis'') is a species of
butterfly, common in
boreal
Boreal may refer to:
Climatology and geography
*Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch
*Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
from Alaska, across southern Canada to New England and the Maritime Provinces and south to New Mexico from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge.
Adult butterflies feed on tree sap and nectar from
sweet everlasting (''Gnaphalium'') as well as other flowers.
Caterpillars feed on shrub leaves including
currant (''Ribes''),
western azalea (''Rhododendron occidentale'') and
mock azalea (''Rhododendron menziesii'').
The species survives the winter in the adult stage in
diapause and mate and lay eggs in the spring. Butterflies emerge from their
chrysalids in midsummer.
References
External links
Hoary Comma Butterflies of Canada
Nymphalini
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1867
Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote
Taxa named by Coleman Townsend Robinson
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