The hoary comma (''Polygonia gracilis'') is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

, common in

boreal Boreal may refer to: Climatology and geography *Boreal (age), the first climatic phase of the Blytt-Sernander sequence of northern Europe, during the Holocene epoch *Boreal climate, a climate characterized by long winters and short, cool to mild ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

from Alaska, across southern Canada to New England and the Maritime Provinces and south to New Mexico from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge. Adult butterflies feed on tree sap and nectar from sweet everlasting (''Gnaphalium'') as well as other flowers. Caterpillars feed on shrub leaves including currant (''Ribes''), western azalea (''Rhododendron occidentale'') and mock azalea (''Rhododendron menziesii''). The species survives the winter in the adult stage in

diapause In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions.Tauber, M.J., Tauber, C.A., Masaki, S. (1986) ''Seasonal Adaptations of Insects''. Oxford University Press It ...

and mate and lay eggs in the spring. Butterflies emerge from their chrysalids in midsummer.

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Hoary Comma
Butterflies of Canada Nymphalini Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1867 Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote Taxa named by Coleman Townsend Robinson {{Nymphalinae-stub