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The "vau-album" of the scientific name refers to the whitish-silver "V" below on the hindwing cell. With a wingspan of 6.4 - 7.8 cm, the Compton Tortoise Shell is probably the longest-lived of Canadian butterflies in the adult stage. Its upperside is orange-brown with darker wing bases and black spots. There is a single white spot on leading edge of each wing. The underside is mottled gray and brown, with dark bases and borders.
In the upland forests of the Algonquin Highlands is where you will most likely find this butterfly. Sometimes they are found in groups around wet spots on the ground. Adult food is sap, rotting fruit and nectar of willow flowers.
Eggs are laid in clusters on the host plant usually birch, popular or willow. The single brood appears in July or August. Caterpillars are pale green, speckled with branched black spines and often hang from wood. Adults hibernate, sometimes in groups, in tree cavities, under eaves, or in buildings.
This big butterfly is notorious for its unpredictability; for years at a time it may be absent from the Algonquin Highlands.
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COMPTON TORTOISE SHELL
Nymphalis vaualbum
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