Polygonia satyrus, California, courtesy of Leroy Simon.
Superfamily: Papilionoidea Latreille, [1802] | Website designed and maintained |
The underside is light and dark golden brown, with a relatively straight median band. The hindwing has a silver comma in the center of the wing.
Polygonia satyrus, California, courtesy of Leroy Simon.
Butterflies take nutrients from sap and fungi.
She did not seem to have a great deal of energy and drifted lazily over a clump of nettles about 2.5 feet in diameter, frequently landing and ovipositing.
During the next two weeks I found fifty larvae/eggs on these nettles and a few more on a nearby clump.Pale green eggs were deposited on the undersides of the host foliage, usually on lower leaves on the outer fringe of a cluster of nettles. Eggs, which darkened considerably just before emergence, were brought indoors and emerged on May 9. |
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Under warm conditions, incubation takes only three-four days, and tiny black satyr comma larvae begin eating holes from the underside of host foliage.Looking for the holes and then gently turning over leaves usually results in the discovery of larvae. Nettles can give a nasty little sting that will burn for a few miutes so be careful or wear gloves. |
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By May 16, several larvae had moved into second instar and they continued
eating holes from the inner portions of the leaf, always feeding from the underside.
Growth is rapid under indoor heat with nettle cut ends wrapped in moist
towelling surrounded by foil in tightly lidded 3.6 litre buckets.
Satyr comma caterpillars take on quite a bit more white colouration both in body and spines as
they
move into final instar (May 21). | ![]() |
On May 28, just 19 days after emerging from its egg, the first larva made this
chrysalis. |
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I saved some specimens for requests, but released the majority of the butterflies.
Male Polygonia satyrus, ex egg June 10, scan by Bill Oehlke.
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