Comma
Polygonia c-album (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The comma (Polygonia c-album) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, belonging to the family Nymphalidae in the order Lepidoptera. It is placed in the subfamily Nymphalinae, tribe Nymphalini and genus Polygonia, within the superfamily Papilionoidea and the class Insecta.
Quick facts about the comma
Other English names for it are Anglewing, European comma and Comma butterfly. Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 4 cm – 5.2 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Scavengersrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- All yearsrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc for Generations a year
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the comma?
Photos of the comma
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the comma live?
Not recorded
What is the comma?
Polygonia c-album, or the comma, is a food generalist (polyphagous) butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. The angular notches on the edges of the forewings are characteristic of the genus Polygonia, which is why species in the genus are commonly referred to as anglewing butterflies. Comma butterflies can be identified by their prominent orange and dark brown/black dorsal wings.
Both the larval and adult stages exhibit protective camouflage, mimicking bird droppings and fallen leaves respectively, which reduces predation. The pupae are also cryptic, resembling shriveled leaves. During the later stage of development, the larvae also develop strong spines along their backs. The species is commonly found in Europe, North Africa, and Asia, and contains several subspecies. Although the species is not migratory, the butterflies are strong fliers, resulting in an open population structure with high gene flow and increased genetic variation.
From the Wikipedia article “Polygonia c-album” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Polygonia_c-album&oldid=1373946278), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the comma endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the comma classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyNymphalidae
- genusPolygonia
- SpeciesPolygonia c-album (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Grapta agnicula, Grapta c-album, Grapta marsyas, Nymphalis c-album, Papilio c-album, Polygonia album, Polygonia castanea, Polygonia delta-album, Polygonia elongana, Polygonia extincta, Polygonia i-album, Polygonia i-album, Polygonia immaculata, Polygonia imperfecta, Polygonia manchurica, Polygonia marsyas, Polygonia nigracastanea, Polygonia nigrolunaria, Polygonia nubilata, Polygonia o-album, Polygonia obscura, Polygonia p-album, Polygonia pallida, Polygonia pallidior, Polygonia pusilla, Polygonia reichenstettensis, Polygonia uncipuncta, Polygonia variegata, Polygonia vilarrubiai, Vanena hutchinsoni, Vanessa c-album, Vanessa cloqueti, Vanessa comma-alba, Vanessa f-album, Vanessa g-album, Vanessa lutescens, Vanessa melanosticta
Other names and names in other languages (56)
- AnglewingEnglish
- AnglewingEnglish
- Comma butterflyEnglish
- European commaEnglish
- فاصلةArabic
- فاصلة أوروبيةArabic
- فراشة الفاصلةArabic
- Вуглакрыльніца С-белаеBelarusian
- МногоъгълницаBulgarian
- Papallona de la c blancaCatalan
- babočka bílé CCzech
- Mantell GarpiogWelsh
- Mentyll CarpiogWelsh
- Det hvide CDanish
- Fliget takvingeDanish
- C-FalterGerman
- Mariposa C-BlancaSpanish
- Mariposa alas de ángel C-BlancaSpanish
- Väike-kärbtiibEstonian
- liuskaperhonenFinnish
- herukkaperhonenFinnish
- Robert-le-DiableFrench
- C-flinterWestern Frisian
- CamógIrish
- dealan-dè na cromaig gealScottish Gaelic
- dealain-dè na cromaig ghealaScottish Gaelic
- נימפית טוביהHebrew
- Riđa c-bijelaCroatian
- Kontinentalna riđaCroatian
- C-betűs lepkeHungarian
- VirgolaItalian
- シータテハJapanese
- 산네발나비Korean
- C-PäiperlekLuxembourgish
- KarpytūnėLithuanian
- Jāņogu raibenisLatvian
- hvit cNorwegian Bokmål
- Gehakkelde aureliaDutch
- kvit cNorwegian Nynorsk
- rusałka ceikPolish
- Polygonia c-albumPiedmontese
- VírgulaPortuguese
- ComaPortuguese
- Углокрыльница с-белоеRussian
- Углокрыльница c-белоеRussian
- babôčka zubatokrídlaSlovak
- Beli CSlovenian
- Бело оцилоSerbian
- Belo ociloSerbian
- vinbärsfuksSwedish
- ผีเสื้อปีกเว้าตัวซีหิมาลัยThai
- Yırtık PırtıkTurkish
- Щербатка с-білеUkrainian
- 黄蛱蝶Chinese
- 白鐮紋蛺蝶Chinese
- 白钩蛱蝶Chinese
Relatives of the comma
Other species in the same genus Polygonia.
Asian comma
Polygonia c-aureum
Southern comma
Polygonia egea
Question mark
Polygonia interrogationis
Green comma
Polygonia faunus
Eastern comma
Polygonia comma
Gray comma
Polygonia progne
CompareComma vs Asian commaComma vs Southern commaComma vs Question markComma vs Green comma
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the comma?
The comma is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the family Nymphalidae.
What is the scientific name of the comma?
The scientific name of the comma is Polygonia c-album, placing it in the genus Polygonia.
What other names does the comma have?
The comma is also called Anglewing, European comma and Comma butterfly.
What family does the comma belong to?
The comma belongs to the family Nymphalidae, in the subfamily Nymphalinae and tribe Nymphalini.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Comma (Polygonia c-album). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/comma
“Comma (Polygonia c-album).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/comma.
@misc{comma_2026,
title = {Comma (Polygonia c-album)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/comma},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}