Question Mark
Polygonia interrogationis (Fabricius, 1798)
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Identification: Forewing hooked; upperside is red-orange with black spots. Upperside hindwing of summer form is mostly black with a short tail; that of winter form has much orange and a longer, violet-tipped tail. Underside is light brown; hindwing with pearly white question mark in center.
Wing Span: 2 1/4 - 3 inches (5.7 - 7.6 cm).
Life History: Males find females by perching on leaves or tree trunks in the afternoon, flying to chase other insects and even birds. Females lay eggs singly or stacked under leaves of plants that are usually not the hosts. Caterpillars must find a host plant; they then eat leaves and live alone. Adults of the winter form hibernate; some staying in the north, many migrating to the south.
Flight: Overwintered adults fly and lay eggs in the spring until the end of May. The summer form emerges and flies from May-September, laying eggs that develop into the winter form; these adults appear in late August and spend the winter in various shelters.
Caterpillar Hosts: American elm (Ulmus americanus), red elm (Ulmus rubra), hackberry (Celtis), Japanese hop (Humulus japonicus), nettles (Urtica), and false nettle (Boehmeria cylindrica).
Adult Food: Rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, carrion. Only when these are unavailable do Question Marks visit flowers such as common milkweed, aster, and sweet pepperbush.
Habitat: Wooded areas with some open space, city parks, suburbs, fencerows.
Range: Southern Canada and all of the eastern United States except peninsular Florida, west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, south to southern Arizona and Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 6891 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 20, 2020
Submitted by: jmacmetro
Region: Hudson County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 18, 2024
Observation date: Apr 25, 2020
Submitted by: Hmknj
Region: Camden County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 18, 2024
Observation date: Apr 07, 2020
Submitted by: Miya
Region: Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 18, 2024
Observation date: Jun 06, 2024
Submitted by: indigobirding
Region: Noble County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Nov 07, 2024
Observation date: Oct 28, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 29, 2024
Observation date: Oct 09, 2024
Submitted by: nehall
Region: Martinsville, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Oct 28, 2024
Observation date: Oct 20, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2024
Observation date: Sep 18, 2024
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Catron County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 05, 2024
Observation date: Aug 24, 2024
Submitted by: Trish W
Region: Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 23, 2024
Observation date: Sep 12, 2024
Submitted by: Kentonky41015
Region: Kenton County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 12, 2024
Observation date: Aug 31, 2024
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Otero County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 01, 2024
Observation date: Aug 16, 2024
Submitted by: pgrew1@unl.edu
Region: Penobscot County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 30, 2024
Observation date: Aug 22, 2024
Submitted by: ButtahflyEtn37354
Region: Monroe County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 24, 2024
Observation date: Aug 15, 2018
Submitted by: Puccini
Region: Hamlin County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 23, 2024
Observation date: Aug 20, 2024
Submitted by: Mothman97
Region: St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 21, 2024
Observation date: Aug 17, 2024
Submitted by: okeefenmt
Region: Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 19, 2024
Observation date: Jul 20, 2024
Submitted by: Jasper
Region: Monroe County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 15, 2024
Observation date: Aug 13, 2024
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 14, 2024
Observation date: Jul 06, 2024
Submitted by: sgguthart
Region: Cheyenne County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Aug 12, 2024
Observation date: May 16, 1995
Submitted by: papilio1
Region: Denton County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 12, 2024
Observation date: Jul 16, 2024
Submitted by: dvollmar
Region: Lucas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 06, 2024
Observation date: Aug 05, 2024
Submitted by: Gotrilobite
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 06, 2024
Observation date: Jul 14, 2024
Submitted by: Reedberg
Region: Pettis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 05, 2024
Observation date: Aug 04, 2024
Submitted by: sv27
Region: Tompkins County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 04, 2024
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