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I have been trawling through my 2020 photos to see if any of the Commas in our garden near Swanage are Hutchinsoni. Most of the Commas we see are probably not, but I am unsure about these 2 that appeared in our garden on 28th July and 29th July.
The first on 28th July (photo #324) looks pale enough (did not get an underside photo unfortunately)?
But then on 29th July a different Comma appeared (photos #341 and #342) - it looks to be not pale enough on the upperside, but very pale on the underside.
I would really like to know if these are Hutchinsoni please?
Brian Arnold

Hi Brian. It's very difficult (I find) to judge from photos alone, because camera settings and processing can change so much of the apparent colour. For what it's worth, I think your third photo (28th) looks very good for hutchinsoni but I can't judge the other one.

In the field, hutchinsoni appears a bright orange, like a fritillary. More significantly, I think, any summer male engaging in territorial/reproductive behaviour must be hutchinsoni. There is no point in a non-breeding individual indulging in potentially damaging scuffles with other males or seducing females. Summer males of the starski persuasion are most commonly seen at nectar or warming themselves up. Similarly, any gravid summer female must be hutchinsoni. I think your last individual (28th) is a female but I can't tell if she's gravid.

I saw huge numbers of hutchinsoni this year. It seemed to me that in Suffolk the species put quite a lot of eggs in that basket. I just hope their offspring emerged before the weather turned cold ...

Guy

Guy,
Thanks for your reply and opinion.
I take most of my butterfly photos with the exposure set to -1/3 stop, which seems to get the colour balance about right for my camera - Lumix FZ200 with a close up lens attached. However the conditions (sunny/cloudy/angle taken) can make a big difference to the darkness or lightness of the photo.
I felt reasonably sure that #324 is a Hutchinsoni, but was very unsure about the other one. However I cannot remember ever seeing one with such a pale colourful underside.
Best Wishes, Brian