Polygonia gracilis
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The hoary comma (Polygonia gracilis) is a species of butterfly, common in boreal North America from Alaska, across southern Canada to New England and the Maritime Provinces and south to New Mexico from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The wings have a distinctive ragged edge.
Adult butterflies feed on tree sap and nectar from sweet everlasting (Gnaphalium) as well as other flowers. Caterpillars feed on shrub leaves including currant (Ribes), western azalea (Rhododendron occidentale) and mock azalea (Rhododendron menziesii).
The species survives the winter in the adult stage in diapause and mates and lay eggs in the spring. Butterflies emerge from their chrysalids in midsummer. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wrangell-St. Elias National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Glacier National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Yosemite National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Banff National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Grand Teton National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Jasper National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Olympic National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Great Bear Rainforest | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hoary Comma sighting in Banff National Park on a given day, based on 47 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 13th most-seen of the 105 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–May and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hoary Comma in Banff National Park on a given day, against under 5% in November to March, the lowest months.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hoary Comma sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
6th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Hoary Comma sightings, Banff National Park ranks 6th at about 10%. The best odds are in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (United States, about 20%), Rocky Mountain National Park (United States, about 20%) and Glacier National Park (United States, about 20%).
Same genus: Polygonia
The closest relatives of the Hoary Comma that you can see in Banff National Park (genus Polygonia, Commas) are Green Comma (about 20%) and Satyr Comma (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hoary Comma is recorded against all the insects logged in Banff National Park (47 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
