Green Comma

Green Comma

Polygonia faunus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Glacier National Park

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

49 Verified sightings at Glacier National Park From 2019 to 2026
384 In all 12 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Green Comma

Polygonia faunus, the green comma, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. Some authors split Polygonia faunus into the above-mentioned subspecies, on the basis of differences in the color of the underside and their distribution. However most authors consider them as regional variants. This species can be found in the boreal North America, from central Alaska south to central California and northern New Mexico. It is also present across the Great Lakes area to New England, the Maritimes and in the southern Appalachians. The green comma mainly occurs in forests, mountain woodlands, near streams and in canyons.

The wingspan of Polygonia faunus can reach about 45–64 mm. These usually uncommon butterflies show extremely ragged wing edges. They are geographically rather variable. The upperside of their wings is reddish brown with wide dark borders. The hindwing border contains a row of yellow spots. The underside of the wings is grey-brown, but... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~30%
2 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~30%
3 Isle Royale National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
4 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~20%
5 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~20%
6 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
7 Denali National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
8 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
9 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
10 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
11 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
12 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Anchorage 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
2 Edmonton 🇨🇦 Canada
~10%
3 Calgary 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
4 Vancouver 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Green Comma in Glacier National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Green Comma sighting in Glacier National Park on a given day, based on 49 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 19th most-seen of the 147 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.

When is the best time to see a Green Comma in Glacier National Park?

September

In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Green Comma in Glacier National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–April and October–November, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Green Comma?

Between noon and 3 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Green Comma sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Which relatives of the Green Comma live in Glacier National Park?

Same genus: Polygonia

The closest relatives of the Green Comma that you can see in Glacier National Park (genus Polygonia, Commas) are Hoary Comma (about 20%), Satyr Comma (about 20%) and Polygonia vaualbum (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Green Comma sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Green Comma is recorded against all the insects logged in Glacier National Park (49 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.

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