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 385 - 408 of 6968 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 29, 2021
Observation date: Sep 21, 2021
Submitted by: farrahjimenez
Region: Guadalupe County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 22, 2021
Observation date: Sep 14, 2021
Submitted by: KD5NRH
Region: Texas, Somervell County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 19, 2021
Observation date: Sep 12, 2021
Submitted by: tjay13
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 13, 2021
Observation date: Aug 24, 2021
Submitted by: J_stone16
Region: Texas, Tarrant County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 11, 2021
Observation date: Sep 08, 2021
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Montcalm County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Sep 04, 2021
Submitted by: J Tinsman
Region: Hartford County, Connecticut, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Aug 25, 2021
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 07, 2021
Observation date: Sep 06, 2021
Submitted by: billd
Region: Garfield County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 06, 2021
Observation date: Sep 03, 2021
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 05, 2021
Observation date: Sep 04, 2021
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 05, 2021
Observation date: Sep 02, 2021
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 03, 2021
Observation date: Sep 01, 2021
Submitted by: mdcall
Region: Ray County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 03, 2021
Observation date: Aug 20, 2021
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 23, 2021
Observation date: Aug 19, 2021
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 23, 2021
Observation date: Aug 11, 2021
Submitted by: Joshua C
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 22, 2021
Observation date: Aug 21, 2021
Submitted by: Nick4244
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 21, 2021
Observation date: Aug 15, 2021
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Butler County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 16, 2021
Observation date: Aug 15, 2021
Submitted by: Ssneed
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 16, 2021
Observation date: Aug 01, 2021
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Chase County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 14, 2021
Observation date: May 12, 2021
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Texas, Kimble County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 14, 2021
Observation date: Aug 13, 2021
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 14, 2021
Observation date: Aug 02, 2021
Submitted by: Eric Hartshaw
Region: Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 14, 2021
Observation date: Jul 01, 2021
Submitted by: ObserverofGod'sart
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Aug 11, 2021
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