A Very EARLY Butterfly: Comma

It was another sunny, mild day, and so we headed for Bald Eagle State Park. I got a pretty big surprise just after we arrived there. I was standing near the car eating a yogurt when I saw a flying creature flit by. "A moth," I said to my husband; then I spotted a flash of orange: "BUTTERFLY!!!"

And of course, then I ran after it with my camera! The butterfly seemed to want to sit on my car, but it finally ended up in the leaves on the ground. I managed to capture a few photos before it took off for good.

The butterfly in this picture is called a comma. There is also one that looks similar to this, called a question mark. (Who knew naming butterflies was a "thing" for English majors?) This butterfly has three dots on top of its wing, and a comma marking underneath. So: comma!

It's been a rather mild winter with very little snow, but a fair amount of fog. I cannot say definitively that this is the first and only butterfly I've ever seen in February, but certainly nothing else comes to mind. Let me say this then: this seems rather unusual, for this time of year!

For my soundtrack song . . . I pick this one, where it sounds like they are singing about Comma Comma Comma Comma Comma Chameleon. . . .  the Culture Club, with Karma Chameleon.