Nymphalis vau-album
Size:
Wingspan is 2 1/2 - 3 1/16 inches.
Similar Species:
Gray Comma (smaller)
Habitat:
Hardwood forests, woodland edges and hilltops.
Range/Abundance:
Very rare in the northern mountains
of WV and an extremely rare migrant into VA and NC. Not recorded in SC.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from June until November in a single brood.
Larval Host Plants:
Aspen and cottonwood Populus, willows Salix, Gray Birch
Betula populifolia and Paper Birch B. papyrifera
Comments:
The behavior of this species is very much like that of the Mourning
Cloak. It rarely visit flowers as they prefer rotten fruit and sap.
I found my first Compton at the entrance to Dolly Sods in WV. It was perched in the road by the entrance sign. At first I thought it was a large Question Mark as the silhouette was nearly the same.
While I was in NY at a Fourth of July butterfly count, a Compton appeared
in the road. Everyone told me we were very lucky to have found this one.
By the mid day we'd found close to ten of them which was unheard of to
find so many.
All photos were taken in Westchester Co., NY on July 12, 2003.
