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 73 - 96 of 6897 verified sightings
Observation date: Jan 31, 2024
Submitted by: neflodonata
Region: Levy County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 31, 2024
Observation date: Jan 25, 2024
Submitted by: polylepis
Region: Galveston County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 29, 2024
Observation date: Jan 25, 2024
Submitted by: polylepis
Region: Galveston County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 29, 2024
Observation date: Oct 02, 2023
Submitted by: Rick Sinnott
Region: Davidson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jan 25, 2024
Observation date: Sep 30, 2023
Submitted by: Rick Sinnott
Region: Davidson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jan 24, 2024
Observation date: Sep 28, 2023
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Scotland County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jan 15, 2024
Observation date: Sep 27, 2023
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 12, 2023
Observation date: Sep 17, 2023
Submitted by: Nilesh Shah
Region: Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 01, 2023
Observation date: Jul 13, 2020
Submitted by: ridgeboy
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 24, 2023
Observation date: Sep 14, 2023
Submitted by: JamieLynn
Region: Richmond County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 20, 2023
Observation date: Sep 03, 2023
Submitted by: bonfrey
Region: Socorro County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 20, 2023
Observation date: Sep 14, 2023
Submitted by: Drew Baxter
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Sep 15, 2023
Observation date: Sep 13, 2023
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 13, 2023
Observation date: Sep 06, 2023
Submitted by: TNnutter
Region: Warren County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 06, 2023
Observation date: Sep 05, 2023
Submitted by: Alison Davies
Region: Lexington County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Sep 05, 2023
Observation date: Aug 31, 2023
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 04, 2023
Observation date: Jul 30, 2023
Submitted by: jyasmeen
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 03, 2023
Observation date: Sep 10, 2016
Submitted by: EarlyDawnPhotography
Region: Grant County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 01, 2023
Observation date: Aug 26, 2023
Submitted by: Gingurr25
Region: Posey County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Aug 31, 2023
Observation date: Aug 22, 2023
Submitted by: Ken Cheeks
Region: Edgefield County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 23, 2023
Observation date: Aug 20, 2023
Submitted by: cp2023
Region: Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 22, 2023
Observation date: Aug 12, 2023
Submitted by: heather-russell
Region: Guilford County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 17, 2023
Observation date: Jul 29, 2023
Submitted by: Joshua C
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 17, 2023
Observation date: Jul 07, 2023
Submitted by: cp2023
Region: Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 15, 2023
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