Attributes of Polygonia progne
Gray Comma
Polygonia progne (Cramer, 1775)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Upperside is bright orange-brown; summer form has hindwing with a wide dark border, winter form has the border covering only about 1/4 of the wing; both enclosing a few small yellow spots. Underside is charcoal gray with fine dark striations; forewing with 3-4 light chevrons in a dark border. Silver mark in center of hindwing is small, slender, and L-shaped.
Wing Span: 1 5/8 - 2 /12 inches (4.4 - 6.3 cm).
Life History: In midafternoon, males perch on trees or shrubs at the edges of clearings to wait for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plants; the caterpillars feed underneath. Adults overwinter.
Flight: Two flights from hibernation, mates, and lays eggs which develop into the summer generation. Summer adults fly from June-August, laying eggs of the winter generation which appears in October and then hibernates.
Caterpillar Hosts: Gooseberries (Ribes) and azalea (Rhododendron).
Adult Food: Sap; rarely flower nectar.
Habitat: Along dirt roads, along streamsides, and within clearings in rich deciduous or confierous woods, in aspen parks, yards, and gardens. Often in hilly terrain or canyons.
Range: Northwest Territories and British Columbia south along Pacific coast to central California, southeast through Montana, Utah, Colorado, and the Dakotas to eastern Nebraska, central Kansas, and central Arkansas; east through southern Canada and the northern United States to Maine and the Maritimes; south in the Appalachians to North Carolina.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported. Note: The Gray Comma includes Polygonia oreas and its subspecies silenus and nigrozephyrus. These were previously treated as a separate species.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Polygonia progne
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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July 14, 2008 | cheins | Douglas County, Minnesota, United States | January 26, 2013 | Details |
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July 09, 2011 | Opihi Man | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | December 13, 2012 | Details |
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August 07, 2012 | joanne.russo | Windham County, Vermont, United States | October 29, 2012 | Details |
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August 31, 2012 | curtis.lehman (Rory Bower) | Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, United States | September 15, 2012 | Details |
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August 07, 2012 | janet tubb | Ontario, Canada | September 06, 2012 | Details |
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June 12, 2012 | sharin | Clarion County, Pennsylvania, United States | August 21, 2012 | Details |
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June 15, 2012 | curtis.lehman | Potter County, Pennsylvania, United States | June 21, 2012 | Details |
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June 14, 2012 | curtis.lehman | Elk County, Pennsylvania, United States | June 21, 2012 | Details |
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April 07, 2012 | Darrelljn | Manitoba, Canada | June 12, 2012 | Details |
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May 20, 2012 | Steve Craig | Greene County, Missouri, United States | June 12, 2012 | Details |
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February 26, 2012 | Steve Craig | Stone County, Missouri, United States | March 31, 2012 | Details |
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July 28, 2011 | Shane Patterson | Monroe County, Iowa, United States | March 26, 2012 | Details |
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June 03, 2011 | Doug Taron | Du Page County, Illinois, United States | March 26, 2012 | Details |
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August 26, 2011 | jmiller1688 | Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, United States | March 12, 2012 | Details |
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July 22, 2011 | BOGwalker | St Louis County, Minnesota, United States | February 20, 2012 | Details |
| July 18, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 11, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Tom Tyning #) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 12, 2003 | legacy.reporter (S.Berk Xerces) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 26, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Ron + Sue Cloutier) | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 30, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Ron + Sue Cloutier) | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 17, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Barbara Spencer) | Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 08, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon, Bruce Callahan, Jill Johnson) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 16, 2011 | legacy.reporter (T. Gagnon and B. Higgins) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 09, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Josh Rose ) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 28, 2010 | legacy.reporter (Bo Zaremba) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 16, 2011 | legacy.reporter (T. Gagnon and B. Higgins) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 26, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon and Bruce Callahan) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 15, 2009 | legacy.reporter (Bo Zaremba) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 13, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| July 09, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon et al ) | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 09, 2011 | legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon and Geoff LeBaron) | Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
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September 24, 2011 | mdolomieu1 | Greene County, Missouri, United States | October 28, 2011 | Details |
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October 09, 2011 | matt bezek | Monroe County, New York, United States | October 26, 2011 | Details |
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September 10, 2011 | BeaLaporte | Ontario, Canada | September 15, 2011 | Details |
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September 04, 2011 | BeaLaporte | Ontario, Canada | September 07, 2011 | Details |
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August 26, 2011 | George Sims | Douglas County, Missouri, United States | August 28, 2011 | Details |
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August 14, 2011 | Chris Hayes | Rice County, Minnesota, United States | August 16, 2011 | Details |
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July 14, 2011 | Dave Kinney | Wexford County, Michigan, United States | August 14, 2011 | Details |
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June 30, 2011 | khemeon | Bennington County, Vermont, United States | July 25, 2011 | Details |
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April 21, 2011 | John LeBlanc | Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States | May 06, 2011 | Details |
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September 09, 2010 | glocamp | Sherburne County, Minnesota, United States | May 03, 2011 | Details |
| June 04, 1995 | Ranger Steve Mueller (Steven J. Mueller) | Mackinac County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 23, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Reinoehl, Jack) | Hillsdale County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 08, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Heuvelhorst, Bonnie with Rick Baetsen, DennyBrooks, Katherine Carothers, Andy Carter, Mark Jaunzems, Stephen Kay, Karen Lamonte, Janea Little, Mason Schafer, Melvin Schafer, Richard Urbanek, Myrtle Wilke, Robert Wood) | Schoolcraft County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 21, 1995 | legacy.reporter (Schipper, Russ) | Gogebic County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| August 03, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Heuvelhorst, Bonnie, A. & J. & R. Baetsen, R. Urbanek) | Schoolcraft County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| September 19, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Reinoehl, Jack) | Hillsdale County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| October 15, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Peters, David) | Saginaw County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 26, 1997 | legacy.reporter (Reinoehl, Jack) | Hillsdale County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 04, 1997 | legacy.reporter (Hicks, Timothy, A. Boulton, Janet Helmer, M. Hicks, A. Koster, K. Mork, B. Neis, Ken Sherburn, J. Walhout) | Muskegon County, Michigan, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details |
