Click external link here to see identification guide to Irish Butterflies
The Comma Butterfly (Polygonia c-aibum) is of the family Nymphalidae which is in the genus Polygonia.
This
common species has a widespread distribution in the temperate regions
of Eurasia and North Africa. Formally absent from Ireland, it is only in
recent times that it has been
added to the Irish Butterfly List. It was first reliably reported
near Portaferry, Co. Down in August 1997 and again in August 1998. There
were no further reports until 17th August 2000 when there was a fully verified record from the Raven Nature Reserve, Co. Wexford.
Proof of breeding was subsequently confirmed in that area. Over the
last ten years, it has rapidly expanded its range from southeast Co.
Wexford and has now colonised most of southern Leinster as well as
eastern Munster.
The larval food plant is mainly Stinging Nettle (Urtica dioica)
and the flight season is from late March to late September, split over
two generations. Having overwintered as an adult, it emerges in late
spring and then after mating, lays its eggs on the larval food plant.
The 1st record for
Cape Clear Island, Co. Cork on 14th October 2019 (pers. comm. Jim Fitzharris)
might be an indication of fresh immigration from Britain or Continental
Europe.
Patrick J. O'Keeffe / Raw Birds
