Gray comma (Polygonia progne [Cramer])
Wing span: 1 5/8 - 2 /12 inches (4.4 - 6.3 cm).
Identification: Upperside is bright orange-brown; summer form has hindwing with a wide dark border, winter form has the border covering only about 1/4 of the wing; both enclosing a few small yellow spots. Underside is charcoal gray with fine dark striations; forewing with 3-4 light chevrons in a dark border. Silver mark in center of hindwing is small, slender, and L-shaped.
Life history: In midafternoon, males perch on trees or shrubs at the edges of clearings to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plants; the caterpillars feed underneath. Adults overwinter.
Flight: Two flights: In April and May the winter form emerges from hibernation, mates, and lays eggs which develop into the summer generation. Summer adults fly from June-August, laying eggs of the winter generation which appears in October and then hibernates.
Caterpillar hosts: Gooseberries (Ribes) and azalea (Rhododendron).
Adult food: Sap; rarely flower nectar.
Habitat: Along dirt roads and within clearings in rich deciduous woods, in aspen parks, yards, and gardens.
Range: Northwest Territories and eastern British Columbia southeast through Montana and the Dakotas to eastern Nebraska, central Kansas, and central Arkansas; east through southern Canada and the northern United States to Maine and the Maritimes; south in the Appalachians to North Carolina.
