July 2024

[Testudo Man]

In my opinion, all of your images show hutchinsoni individuals, Paul, for the reason Dave gives and also by jizz.

I've been trying to persuade people to call the 'normal' variety starski but it hasn't caught on! Hutchinson was the blond one ...

Guy

Thanks Guy, "every day is a school day". I confess to only shooting lots of pics of the Commas, because of the lack of hardly any other species on the wing at that time!...maybe it was a good thing, as despite the fact that the Comma is a "bread an butter" overlooked species, one which i hardly ever pay any attention to ...but perhaps, a species that deserves more attention than it gets.

I was born in 1963, so grew up on a diet of 70's/80's American cop shows...but i still had to read your "Starkers an Crutch" reference twice, before it sunk in.
Cheers Paul.

[bugboy]

In my opinion, all of your images show hutchinsoni individuals, Paul, for the reason Dave gives and also by jizz.

I've been trying to persuade people to call the 'normal' variety starski but it hasn't caught on! Hutchinson was the blond one ...

Guy

Thanks Guy, "every day is a school day". I confess to only shooting lots of pics of the Commas, because of the lack of hardly any other species on the wing at that time!...maybe it was a good thing, as despite the fact that the Comma is a "bread an butter" overlooked species, one which i hardly ever pay any attention to ...but perhaps, a species that deserves more attention than it gets.

I was born in 1963, so grew up on a diet of 70's/80's American cop shows...but i still had to read your "Starkers an Crutch" reference twice, before it sunk in.
Cheers Paul.

It's the day length that triggers a caterpillar to transform into a Hutchinsoni rather than a Starski so anything that emerges close enough to the summer solstice to be getting long days and short nights is going to be a hutchinsoni. The trigger telling the insect that there's plenty of time to fit in a second brood. As day length shortens then the Straski form takes dominance again. Of course there's likely a 'grey area' at some point where both forms may appear.

Ps. Guy, I've been using the Starski name on Facebook, doesn't seem to have caught on there yet either.

[Pete Eeles]

Ps. Guy, I've been using the Starski name on Facebook, doesn't seem to have caught on there yet either.

That's because most people are boring - and would prefer to use the nominate name, as in:

<genus><species><subspecies><form> (with the subspecies omitted if there are no relevant subspecies).

So:

Polygonia c-album f. hutchinsoni

and

Polygonia c-album f. c-album

f. starski might just be too amusing to some and make their heads explode

Cheers,

- Pete

[bugboy]

Ps. Guy, I've been using the Starski name on Facebook, doesn't seem to have caught on there yet either.

That's because most people are boring - and would prefer to use the nominate name, as in:

<genus><species><subspecies><form> (with the subspecies omitted if there are no relevant subspecies).

So:

Polygonia c-album f. hutchinsoni

and

Polygonia c-album f. c-album

f. starski might just be too amusing to some and make their heads explode

Cheers,

- Pete

It's the annual Small Skipper/Essex Skipper debacle that's making heads explode at the moment