The first butterfly of the year always lifts the spirits – and it’s often a comma. This butterfly seems to glow orange like the embers of a bonfire, instantly lighting up any March day.
On closer inspection, the upper wings are a rich mix of oranges and browns, which, complete with the insect’s ragged wing outline, brilliantly impersonate an autumn leaf.
In fact, the butterfly is named for the small white mark on the underside of its hind wing, but you’ll need a clear view of a resting individual to see this well.
Commas are seen so early in the year because, like brimstones, peacock butterflies and small tortoiseshells, they hibernate as adults. All it takes is a bit of March sunshine to lift the air temperature, and the hardy insects begin to stir from their winter resting places in hollow trees or among tree roots or piles of brushwood.
Nectar is still in short supply in March, but primroses and catkins are both popular with freshly emerged commas. These butterflies also love to bask in the warmth, for example on the sunny side of a tree trunk.
- What is the largest butterfly in the UK?
- What’s the most common butterfly species in the UK?
- Do butterflies sleep?
Top image: Peter Swan/Getty Images
More wildlife stories from around the world
- The adorable tree bumblebee is stirring from its winter slumber – and it's hungry
- Spider beach: the abandoned military site in England now ruled by arachnids
- This exotic-looking bird has a bandit mask and punk-rocker crest – and can eat a whopping 1,000 berries a day
- “Greater detail than ever before.” Ancient creature found immaculately entombed in amber
