Polygonia comma and by the row of pale submarginal spots on the hindwing upperside, which tend to be separate and surrounded by dark shading in comma, but are larger and tend to run together into a pale band in "P. satyrus". Polygonia comma Polygonia comma, the eastern comma, is a North American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Nymphalinae. This butterfly is seasonally variable. The upperside of the summer form's hindwings are all black, whereas the winter forms hindwings are reddish orange. The underside of both forms is striped with dark and light brown. There is a silvery comma mark in the
Polygonia comma form of comma is frequently confused with the dark form of the question mark ("P. interrogationis"), but the two can readily be distinguished by the shape of the comma mark on the underside. The pale form is easily confused with the satyr comma ("P. satyrus"), which usually occurs north and west of the eastern comma's range. They can be distinguished by the upperside color, which is orange brown in the comma and tawny yellowish brown in "P. satyrus"; by the underside pattern, which tends to be mottled in the comma but appears to be more longitudinally streaked in "P. satyrus";