Hoary Comma - Hodges#4427

Adult: eastern subspecies best distinguished by dark inner part of underside of wings, contrasting strongly with gray, hoary outer part; hindwing upperside with bright yellow spots in dark wing margin; silver comma on underside of hindwing thin and pointed at both ends Larva: dark brown with reddish dorsal streaks and spines on front half of body, and whitish dorsal patches and spines on rear half Subspecies P. g. zephyrus (until recently considered a separate species by most authors) has a western distribution from southern British Columbia, Alberta, and the Cypress Hills of Saskatchewan, south to California and New Mexico. The underside of its wings are dark silvery-gray, showing less contrast than in the eastern subspecies P. g. gracilis The nominate subspecies ( P. g. gracilis ) occurs in the east from Manitoba to Labrador and Nova Scotia, south to New England states. The underside of its wings are dark brown in the basal half, contrasting sharply with the hoary gray outer half. An unnamed intermediate form occurs from Alaska to Nunavut, south to Manitoba and central British Columbia, where it intergrades with subspecies zephyrus . Its wings are grayish-brown beneath with a moderate line of contrast separating the two halves.