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 505 - 528 of 6970 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: c4c
Region: Botetourt County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 06, 2021
Observation date: Oct 21, 2020
Submitted by: Jim_Gant777
Region: Watauga County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jan 06, 2021
Observation date: Aug 17, 2018
Submitted by: jvincemery
Region: Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 05, 2021
Observation date: Sep 07, 2018
Submitted by: jgriffithg
Region: Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 05, 2021
Observation date: Nov 01, 2018
Submitted by: Bill Palmer
Region: King William County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 05, 2021
Observation date: May 17, 2019
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 04, 2021
Observation date: Jun 16, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 04, 2021
Observation date: Jul 04, 2019
Submitted by: Spinnlady
Region: Roanoke, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Jun 03, 2019
Submitted by: nobusking
Region: Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 14, 2019
Submitted by: daffodale
Region: Loudoun County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 15, 2019
Submitted by: gs.strick
Region: Madison County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Aug 16, 2019
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 03, 2021
Observation date: Aug 16, 2019
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Sep 18, 2016
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Sep 10, 2016
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Aug 27, 2018
Submitted by: TrailRunner13
Region: Windsor County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 02, 2021
Observation date: Sep 08, 2019
Submitted by: c4c
Region: Botetourt County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Jan 01, 2021
Observation date: Aug 23, 2019
Submitted by: Montpelier Monarchs
Region: Orange County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 31, 2020
Observation date: Aug 13, 2019
Submitted by: Wade Wander
Region: Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Dec 29, 2020
Observation date: Oct 18, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 29, 2020
Observation date: Mar 28, 2019
Submitted by: kent
Region: Alexandria, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 29, 2020
Observation date: Oct 24, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Dec 29, 2020
Observation date: Jul 30, 2019
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Will County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Dec 24, 2020
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: eattaway92
Region: Will County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Dec 24, 2020
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