Comma butterfly at Wylam, Northumberland, England

From Wikipedia

Polygonia c-album, or the comma, is a food generalist (polyphagous) butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. The angular notches on the edges of the forewings are characteristic of the genus Polygonia, which is why species in the genus are commonly referred to as anglewing butterflies. Comma butterflies can be identified by their prominent orange and dark brown/black dorsal wings.

Both the larval and adult stages exhibit protective camouflage, mimicking bird droppings and fallen leaves respectively, which reduces predation. The pupae are also cryptic, resembling shriveled leaves. During the later stage of development, the larvae also develop strong spines along their backs. The species is commonly found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and contains several subspecies. Although the species is not migratory, the butterflies are strong fliers, resulting in an open population structure with high gene flow and increased genetic variation.

Image details
Date: 24 July 2022
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Tamron 70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
Aperture: ƒ/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/800s
ISO: 400
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International