National Moth Week is July 20-28, 2024!
Moths are amazing creatures. Take photographs and share your moth sightings with us to document the moths where you live.
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.
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 6860 verified sightings
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_9741_0.jpeg?itok=8-JWvtDf)
Observation date: Jul 21, 2024
Submitted by: Colleen K
Region: Robertson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jul 21, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img-1768.jpg?itok=qc7Y1nIx)
Observation date: Jul 20, 2024
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 20, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/polygonia_interrogationis_question_mark_240717_atv_img_2884.jpg?itok=GuruUPVH)
Observation date: Jul 17, 2024
Submitted by: Bob Jacobson
Region: Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 19, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_0259.jpeg?itok=H4xJI0Ch)
Observation date: Jun 28, 2024
Submitted by: chirpus
Region: Albany County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 14, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_9550_question_mark_7_12_2024.jpg?itok=5nKvSTv1)
Observation date: Jul 12, 2024
Submitted by: drmarc60223
Region: Trempealeau County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 13, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/p7084206_dxo.jpg?itok=TfNZkmuw)
Observation date: Jul 08, 2024
Submitted by: pauhana
Region: Davidson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 08, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/img_6776.jpeg?itok=kckq8d5W)
Observation date: Jul 07, 2024
Submitted by: RLS
Region: Livingston County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 07, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/rscn8690.jpg?itok=oWIOjip_)
Observation date: Jul 03, 2024
Submitted by: Benjamin Miller
Region: Knox County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 05, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dsc02767_0.jpg?itok=45bE0uuY)
Observation date: Jul 04, 2024
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Charleston County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jul 05, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240627_095815.jpg?itok=1x5oG5CL)
Observation date: Jun 27, 2024
Submitted by: cncman
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 04, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240703_153709.jpg?itok=hOjxrRRw)
Observation date: Jul 03, 2024
Submitted by: cncman
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 04, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/polygonia_interrogationis_240623_hmft_dam_2_img_1313.jpg?itok=V5VM-dBr)
Observation date: Jun 23, 2024
Submitted by: Bob Jacobson
Region: Chippewa County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240702_202054.jpg?itok=rvwQUBpE)
Observation date: Jul 02, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/0o8a7779.jpg?itok=K-ZNXCin)
Observation date: Jul 01, 2024
Submitted by: rapids
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240630_111745.jpg?itok=FnQ_QnJx)
Observation date: Jun 30, 2024
Submitted by: rocksnstars
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jun 30, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/question_mark_06102024-2.jpg?itok=aZWRWLwZ)
Observation date: Jun 10, 2024
Submitted by: DebraRade
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 28, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/_p4a1402.jpg?itok=pPsnR02f)
Observation date: Jun 19, 2024
Submitted by: vogelbild
Region: DuPage County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 21, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/qmarka071423.jpg?itok=eQz7cj5E)
Observation date: Jul 14, 2023
Submitted by: joeschelling
Region: Quay County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jun 20, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/question_mark_butterfly_7.jpg?itok=fO4fxg_-)
Observation date: Jun 16, 2024
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Putnam County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jun 18, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/question_mark_24_0.jpg?itok=6HNvral8)
Observation date: Apr 30, 2024
Submitted by: beastbreath
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: elsner
Verified date: Jun 10, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240609_132222.jpg?itok=fzmIEAUt)
Observation date: Jun 09, 2024
Submitted by: tbeltt
Region: Chisago County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 10, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/dscn1112.jpg?itok=PXKO6P7A)
Observation date: May 25, 2024
Submitted by: Blue Swallowtail
Region: Adams County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Jun 03, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240531_150338.jpg?itok=ee-eCMdc)
Observation date: May 31, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 31, 2024
![](https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/sites/default/files/styles/bamona_scale_and_crop_640px_by_640px/public/bamona_images/20240522_103127.jpg?itok=MNmYjsOm)
Observation date: May 22, 2024
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 23, 2024
- 1 of 286
- next ›