Oreas Comma (Polygonia oreas [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 5/8 - 1 7/8 inches (4.2 - 4.8 cm).
Identification: Upperside is red-brown with dark, distinct borders and yellow, chevron-shaped submarginal spots. Underside is blackish-gray; silver mark at center of hindwing is L-shaped.
Life history: Males perch on shrubs in valley bottoms during the afternoons to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly under host plant leaves; caterpillars eat leaves and rest under them or on stems. Adults hibernate.
Flight: Overwintered adults emerge in May, mate, and lay eggs of the next generation, which flies from June-October.
Caterpillar hosts: Gooseberries (Ribes species); perhaps others.
Adult food: Tree sap, rotting fruit, rarely flower nectar.
Habitat: Coastal canyons, streamsides, redwood forests.
Range: British Columbia south through eastern Washington and eastern Oregon and along the Pacific Slope to central California; southeast through the northern Rockies to southern Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
