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Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis - male - summer form

Pictured above Summer Form

Polygonia interrogationis - male - fall form

Pictured above Fall form



 

 
Polygonia interrogationis (Fabricius, 1798)
Status: Common resident.
Flight Period(s): At least two flights. Up to five may occur farther south. Found in Nebraska from 28 April – 23 October. It may also be on the wing on warm winter days.
Range: From southern Manitoba this species is found east to the East Coast and south through Florida and into central Mexico. It is found statewide in Nebraska.
Larval Hostplant(s): Elms, Hackberrys, Hops and Nettles (Ulmus, Celtis, Humulus, Urtica) species. Elms are the primary hostplants in Nebraska.
Overwinter: As adults in sheltered crevices in trees and outbuildings.
Commentary/Habitat: The Question Mark derives its moniker from the silver marking on its ventral hindwing. Adults are found in open woodlands and near woodland margins and will take nectar (milkweeds), but prefer sap flows, rotting fruit, dung and mud. Often found basking in sun on lower tree trunks and branches where it’s cryptic ventral markings make it difficult to detect. Overwintering as adults it is, along with the Eastern Comma, one of the first butterflies flying in spring, occasionally being sighted on warm winter days. The species exhibits two forms, overwintering and summer, differentiated by the dorsal hind wing coloration. In the summer form (form umbrosa) the color is primarily black, while in the overwintering form the hindwing color is primarily orange.
Similar Species: Larger than the other Nebraska Polygonia species, it can also be differentiated by the silver marking on the ventral hind wing, which upon close examination, consists of an angulate silver marking and dot (other species lacking the dot). Dorsally the forewing has, from mid-base to apex, three black spots and a dash, with the other Polygonia lacking the dash.