At lunch breaks from work i usually take a walk, taking the same route pass a common, then down onto the Downs Link, across a play area which leads to the road where i live. Most of the butterflies i encounter at this time of year, [or at least this year] are Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Small and Large Whites plus Meadow Browns, the odd gatekeeper, Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet, Small and Large Skippers and, if i`m really lucky a Peacock and maybe a Red Admiral. On this particular day i saw a male Marbled White on the common, [which is a first for this area] just before i cut down onto the Downs Link, where there were a couple of Commas floating about, as there are nettles all along here, i stopped to watch the two Commas as i always do, nothing normally comes of this, but today was different. One of the Commas was a female and, she instantly flew down on to a nettle and oviposited, laying just the one egg before flying off, but, not on the edge of a nettle leaf which is the norm, but on, a cluster of female flowers hanging down from the Nettle stem, [right on the bottom one]. I have looked for a reference of this behaviour, laying eggs on the flowers of Nettles, and found none, so whether this is common practise or not i have no idea.
23.7.2013 Comma egg 045-2_1_1.jpg
23.7.2013 Comma egg 023-6_1.jpg