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 217 - 240 of 6963 verified sightings
Observation date: Apr 11, 2023
Submitted by: Steven Wilson
Region: Horry County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Apr 12, 2023
Observation date: Apr 10, 2023
Submitted by: Miriam Vaughn
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Apr 11, 2023
Observation date: Mar 20, 2023
Submitted by: Kamiweidenbacher
Region: East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 03, 2023
Observation date: Mar 03, 2023
Submitted by: JolieElise
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Mar 10, 2023
Observation date: Oct 06, 2020
Submitted by: mstackhouse
Region: Nayarit, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023
Observation date: Oct 13, 2020
Submitted by: mstackhouse
Region: Nayarit, Mexico
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023
Observation date: Jun 24, 2021
Submitted by: ObserverofGod'sart
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 05, 2023
Observation date: Aug 06, 2022
Submitted by: hockeybruce7
Region: Monroe County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Feb 04, 2023
Observation date: Nov 23, 2022
Submitted by: cjgoin
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Nov 28, 2022
Observation date: Feb 25, 2022
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 29, 2022
Observation date: Mar 01, 2022
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 29, 2022
Observation date: Oct 21, 2022
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Taney County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 25, 2022
Observation date: Jun 13, 2021
Submitted by: Sheilabean
Region: Texas, Tarrant County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 22, 2022
Observation date: Oct 19, 2022
Submitted by: cjgoin
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 21, 2022
Observation date: Oct 18, 2022
Submitted by: Sheilabean
Region: Texas, Tarrant County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2022
Observation date: Oct 12, 2022
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: Oct 12, 2022
Submitted by: Extremedriver
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: May 08, 2022
Submitted by: Phil.Delestrez
Region: Columbia County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: Oct 09, 2022
Submitted by: Jerry Friedman
Region: Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 11, 2022
Observation date: Apr 22, 2020
Submitted by: loyallonghorn
Region: Fort Bend County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 11, 2022
Observation date: Jul 10, 2021
Submitted by: Mendrola
Region: Texas, Smith County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 09, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2021
Submitted by: PHandel84
Region: Jefferson County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 09, 2022
Observation date: Oct 02, 2022
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 04, 2022
Observation date: Sep 14, 2022
Submitted by: Ashwnota
Region: Washington County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 15, 2022
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