The Comma has been revealed as Edinburgh’s favourite butterfly, after a public vote.
Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation said the bold and beautiful Comma beat off fierce competition from a colourful cast of species to take the top spot as the capital’s favourite.
Once described by Sir David Attenborough as “one of our most exquisite butterflies”, the Comma is easily identified by its scalloped orange wings and tiny comma-shaped mark on its underside.
It beat the Orange-tip – which was voted top throughout Scotland – Peacock, Holly Blue and Small Tortoiseshell in a top five described as a “rainbow of colour”.
Edinburgh’s top butterflies emerged following the charity’s first ever vote for Britain’s favourite, in which the Peacock pipped the Orange-tip for top spot.
Anthony McCluskey, the charity’s Conservation Manager for Scotland, said: “The response really shows how much people in Scotland care about butterflies.
“Butterflies are a great way to connect with nature. It is delightful to see a butterfly and always cheers people up.
“The Orange-tip, which just pipped the Peacock to first place in Scotland, is a species everyone can recognise in their gardens and local parks.
“It’s also a really iconic springtime species, which appears in May and June and indicates that summer is on its way.
“The Comma is another very distinctive looking species with its bright orange colour and tiny comma-shaped mark on its underside.
“It has distinctive scalloped wings, which, when closed, look just like a dead leaf for camouflage.”
The first-ever vote to find Britain’s Favourite Butterfly saw over 20,000 votes cast for 60 different species – of which just over half are found and consistently breed in Scotland.
Butterfly Conservation is now calling on people across Scotland to take part in its annual Big Butterfly Count from Friday 17 July to Sunday 9 August to help form an updated picture of how the nation’s most common species are faring.
Participants will spend 15 minutes in an outdoor space counting the butterflies and day-flying moths they see, and submit sightings to help build an interactive map.
Photo by Erik Karits on Pexels.com
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