Comma: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Butterflies of Europe · day 3 of 7

Five facts

1. Look under its wings and you'll find a small white mark shaped like a C. It looks like a comma, which gives the butterfly its name.
2. With its ragged wing edges and leaf-like underside, a resting comma with folded wings looks just like a fallen leaf.
3. Its caterpillar has a clever disguise: a white stripe along its back makes it look like bird droppings. It also grows strong spines.
4. The female often lays her eggs one by one, checking other plants before choosing where the next goes. Each egg hatches in four to five days.
5. The caterpillars prefer stinging nettles: on these plants they develop faster than on any other they eat.

The quiz

1. Where does the comma butterfly get its name?

• From its curled antennae
• From a small white C-shaped mark under its wings (correct)
• From its zigzag flight
• From the shape of its caterpillar

The small white C under its wings looks like a comma.

2. What does a comma look like when it rests with its wings closed?

• A wasp
• A flower
• A fallen leaf (correct)
• A bird's eye

The underside and ragged edges of its wings mimic a fallen leaf.

3. What does the white stripe on the comma caterpillar's back imitate?

• Bird droppings (correct)
• Snow
• Spider silk
• A flower petal

The white marking makes the caterpillar look like bird droppings.

4. How does a female comma often lay her eggs?

• In big piles of hundreds
• In the soil
• In ponds
• One at a time, checking other plants in between (correct)

She often lays them singly and scouts other plants before laying the next.

5. On which plant do comma caterpillars develop fastest?

• Downy birch
• Stinging nettle (correct)
• Goat willow
• Gooseberry

Larvae on stinging nettle need the shortest development time.

Same week

All lessons

Nature documentaries