I was delighted today to spot my second butterfly of the spring. The first is a Brimstone, which keeps taunting me by flying past me at about the speed of Concorde so I can’t get a photo; but this Comma was intently feeding on the Euphorbia characias, and even when I went a little too close and disturbed it, it simply circled and then came back down. I tried converting the image for Mono Monday, which would have allowed me to witter on about the very shallow depth of field you get from a macro lens, even shooting at f/8… but I’ve decided that it would be a shame to forego these bright spring colours, and after all, MM will still be here next week.
The Comma is a butterfly that overwinters, so it’s not especially surprising to see one on a warm March day. The adults which emerge from hibernation breed quite rapidly; of their offspring, some will go straight to hibernation until next year, but if it’s a fairly warm year others will breed immediately, producing a second flight in the late summer and into the autumn.
The extra photo shows the mark on the underside of the wing that gives this species its common name.
