CN writes:
>>Not an expert, eh? Coulda fooled me! :-)
Clearly not an expert. Glad Dean clarified. Lest you think I was
totally out to lunch, I did not mistake apples for oranges, more like
Cortland for McGowan. They are both Polygonia.
Here they are side by side:
http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/frames-2species.asp?sp1=Polygonia-interrogationis&sp2=Polygonia-comma
I was not aware that the tail length was a reliable field mark , but
then I am not an entomologist. The Question Mark like the Comma has a
lighter Spring/Fall form. Hard to keep the"punctuation" butterflies
straight.
Excerpt from the Wisconsin b'fly site site which I find very useful:
(think Dean sent me my first link there actually)
"Similar species:
All the commas are very similar to the Question Mark. Look for the
horizontal mark on the forewing above or the silvery question mark on
the hind wing below to determine this species."
"I used to have trouble distinguishing the Question Mark from one of
the commas in the field until I learned about this field mark"
"The characteristic silvery spot in the middle of the hind wing is
broken, looking at times very much like a question mark."------that's
the easy one.
We didn't have a good hind wing look from the side which would have
made things very easy at a glance for the most straightforward field
mark. Not an egregious error but an error nonetheless.
http://wisconsinbutterflies.org/butterfly/species/81-question-mark
???,,,,,,,,,,, confusion, Mike
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