Asian comma
Polygonia c-aureum
The Asian comma is an orange butterfly with black dots on top. Underneath, its wings are mottled brown like tree bark, with a small shiny mark shaped like a comma. When it closes its wings, it almost disappears.
Lives in
Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Indochina
Wingspan
2.7 cm (1.1 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The butterflies sip sweet liquids. Its caterpillars eat Japanese hop.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 38 seconds
How big is Asian comma compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Asian comma about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
The shiny comma mark sits in the middle of the underside of the back wing.
2
Unlike other comma butterflies, it has bluish marks at the bottom of its back wings.
3
It is common in towns and suburbs and is not in danger.
you asked
Most asked questions about Asian comma
?Where does the Asian comma live?
In Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan and Indochina, often near towns.
?Why is it called a comma?
Because it has a small shiny mark shaped like a comma under its back wing.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Polygonia c-aureum
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nymphalidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Polygonia c-aureum (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Alpsdake. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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