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Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis

Description:

The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 5–7.5 cm (2–3 in). Its flight period is from May to September. "The silver mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved line and a dot, creating a ? shaped mark that gives the species its common name." females lay eggs singly or stacked under non-host leaves, caterpillars must search for host, hibernates as adult, some stay in north, others migrate south, males perch to locate females and puddles.

Habitat:

City parks, fence rows, suburbs, wooded areas with some open space.

Notes:

Caterpillars feed on members of the elm family,hackberry, and members of the nettle family. Adult butterflies prefer carrion, dung, rotting fruit, and tree sap.

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4 Comments

keithp2012
keithp2012 13 years ago

thank you!

lori.tas
lori.tas 13 years ago

Hi Keith, I added the Latin name and a the wikipedia link.

Isabela
Isabela 13 years ago

Great shot!

keithp2012
keithp2012 13 years ago

Question Mark Butterfly

keithp2012
Spotted by
keithp2012

West Babylon, New York, USA

Spotted on Sep 15, 2010
Submitted on Sep 15, 2010

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