Attributes of Polygonia interrogationis
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.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Polygonia interrogationis
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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June 15, 2013 | painted lady | Benton County, Arkansas, United States | June 16, 2013 | Details |
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June 07, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | June 07, 2013 | Details |
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June 01, 2013 | painted lady | Benton County, Arkansas, United States | June 02, 2013 | Details |
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May 27, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Gibson County, Tennessee, United States | May 30, 2013 | Details |
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May 29, 2013 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | May 29, 2013 | Details |
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May 25, 2013 | Jeff Trahan | St Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States | May 27, 2013 | Details |
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May 22, 2013 | Kimberly Mrozinski | Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States | May 26, 2013 | Details |
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May 25, 2013 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | May 25, 2013 | Details |
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May 22, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | May 23, 2013 | Details |
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May 03, 2013 | Cmkethan | Texas, Tyler County, United States | May 22, 2013 | Details |
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May 19, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 18, 2013 | CA Ivy | Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 18, 2013 | tmauro4 | Collin County, Texas, United States | May 18, 2013 | Details |
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May 17, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | May 17, 2013 | Details |
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May 12, 2013 | aahewetson | Hood County, Texas, United States | May 14, 2013 | Details |
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February 03, 2013 | fitzclarke@bellsouth.net | Chatham County, Georgia, United States | May 13, 2013 | Details |
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March 17, 2013 | Lois Stacey | Georgia, United States, Wilkes County | May 13, 2013 | Details |
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April 30, 2013 | Terry W. Johnson | Monroe County, Georgia, United States | May 13, 2013 | Details |
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May 11, 2013 | gungabee | Henrico County, Virginia, United States | May 12, 2013 | Details |
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August 30, 2012 | KristyBaker | Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States | May 11, 2013 | Details |
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April 15, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Hardin County, Tennessee, United States | April 23, 2013 | Details |
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April 05, 2013 | Mike Stinson | Buckingham County, Virginia, United States | April 19, 2013 | Details |
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April 07, 2013 | Kimberly Mrozinski | Berkeley County, South Carolina, United States | April 17, 2013 | Details |
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June 21, 2012 | Nymphalis antiopa | Cumberland County, Virginia, United States | April 13, 2013 | Details |
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April 06, 2013 | treichard | Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States | April 13, 2013 | Details |
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April 12, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 12, 2013 | Details |
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August 15, 2010 | jeaneley | Shawnee County, Kansas, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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August 18, 2011 | catharinejo | Jackson County, Kansas, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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August 20, 2011 | catharinejo | Jackson County, Kansas, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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March 22, 2013 | Ichigo0077 | Bell County, Texas, United States | March 31, 2013 | Details |
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March 15, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | March 25, 2013 | Details |
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July 02, 2012 | Ehernandez | Warren County, New Jersey, United States | March 18, 2013 | Details |
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March 15, 2013 | Mike Dillon | Texas, Marion County, United States | March 16, 2013 | Details |
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July 02, 2012 | JohnF | Penobscot County, Maine, United States | March 11, 2013 | Details |
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July 02, 2012 | Rick Henle | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | March 11, 2013 | Details |
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March 05, 2013 | Nancee Cobb | Bay County, Florida, United States | March 09, 2013 | Details |
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February 10, 2013 | scvirginia | Charleston County, South Carolina, United States | February 13, 2013 | Details |
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June 26, 2012 | J_Martineau | Dakota County, Minnesota, United States | February 09, 2013 | Details |
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July 05, 2012 | Rick Henle | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | February 08, 2013 | Details |
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April 23, 2012 | birdlover53 | Calhoun County, Michigan, United States | January 30, 2013 | Details |
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May 04, 2012 | birdlover53 | Calhoun County, Michigan, United States | January 30, 2013 | Details |
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October 20, 2012 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | January 19, 2013 | Details |
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October 20, 2012 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | January 19, 2013 | Details |
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October 20, 2012 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | January 19, 2013 | Details |
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July 11, 2012 | Chip Krilowicz | Salem County, New Jersey, United States | January 12, 2013 | Details |
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May 10, 2012 | dpgbfly1 | Isanti County, Minnesota, United States | January 08, 2013 | Details |
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August 14, 2012 | LinRandolph | Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States | January 06, 2013 | Details |
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August 10, 2008 | JeanEvoy | De Soto County, Florida, United States | January 02, 2013 | Details |
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September 27, 2012 | JAYMIE | Cass County, Michigan, United States | December 10, 2012 | Details |
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June 16, 2012 | dendroica5 | Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States | December 04, 2012 | Details |
