Oh sure, you had to throw in the Question mark to further muck things up! :)

It is vital for me (at this point in my self taught "what the heck is that"
project to get both top and underwing views of the commas, question marks. I am
still trying to get a comma photograph that I can say is "its a blah blah blah
comma" on crex meadows. They have commas, I have seen them as they fly away
while I am trying to get them in focus. *sigh*

We did get another Compton Tortoiseshell yesterday. Thats two years in a row I
have photographed these guys on the meadows. For anyone interested, the Compton
Tortoiseshell is one of the migrant butterflies. Its numbers vary each year.

~windchill~

--- In CrexMeadowsNatureLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Bill" <wwblues2@...> wrote:
>
> It has been a long time, so I can't tell from the front. It is either a
question mark or a comma, but you would have to see the back of the wing to
tell.
>
> Bill in MN
>
> --- In CrexMeadowsNatureLovers@yahoogroups.com, "mn_windchill" <mn_windchill@>
wrote:
> >
> > Hi Rick
> >
> > Commas give me trouble. Always. Yours does not have the shadow dot on the
forewing, but the yellow dots on the hindwing do not go far enough. But the
yellow dots on the hindwing are not always diagnostic.
> >
> > Lots of references indicate the comma on the underside is diagnostic. For
the Eastern Comma, this underside mark is hooked on each end, sometimes sharply
and on the Gray comma, its more of a curved line.
> >
> > Heres a good pic of the hook on the Eastern:
> > http://bugguide.net/node/view/76230/bgimage
> >
> > It could very well be a gray.
> >
> > I agree with your eastern Tiger ID.
> >
> > The caterpillar: moths tend to be hairy but can be bald, Butterflies tend to
be bald.
> >
> > Look towards American Daggar Moth (Acronicta americana) for the caterpillar
as a starting point. I cant guarentee this, but it seems to be a match.
> >
> > ~windchill~
> >
> >
> >
> > --- In CrexMeadowsNatureLovers@yahoogroups.com, "Rick" <h.rick_luzula53@>
wrote:
> > >
> > > I've posted four photos in a new album titled "butterflies". They were not
taken at Crex, but at home west of Minneapolis. I would appreciate confirmation
or correction on the butterfly I.D.s, and any help on the larva.
> > >
> > > The first butterfly is tentatively identified as a gray comma. I got a
good look at the underwing to establish it was a comma. From the forewing dots I
am thinking gray comma.
> > >
> > > I think the swallowtail is a dark female eastern tiger swallowtail.
> > >
> > > The larva was 1.5 inches or more in length. Butterfly or moth? Species?
> > >
> > > Rick
> > >
> >
>