Question Mark - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis)

Butterfly: Wingspan: 2¼ - 3 inches (5.7 - 7.6 cm). The upperside is red-orange with black spots. The forewing is hooked. The upperside hindwing of the summer form is mostly black with a short tail; that of the winter form has more orange and a longer, violet-tipped tail. The underside is light brown; the hindwing has a pearly-white question mark in the center. Adults overwinter.

ID Tip: Silver-white question mark on under surface of hindwing

Egg: Translucent, ribbed, green globes that are laid singly or stacked in chains on top of host plant leaves.

Caterpillar: Gray-black with orange and cream stripes and spots, as well as several rows of branched spines.

Chrysalis: Mottled gray-brown. Silver spots on thorax. Two rows of short, sharp projections on abdomen. Resembles are crumpled, dead leaf.

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Their heavily scalloped, uneven wing shapes place Question Marks in a group of butterflies descriptively known as “anglewings.” In Alabama, Question Marks are the largest of that group. Their common name refers to a distinctive silver mark on the hindwing. They are also known as “Violet-Tips, “ because their wings are edged with varying degrees of lavender, depending on the season.

Question Marks often make their first appearance during unseasonably warm days in February. These individuals are overwintering adults. Question Marks are not tightly brooded, and may be encountered almost anytime.

Question Marks are regular visitors to puddles and creek banks where they may gather in numbers. They rely primarily on non-floral food sources and sip liquids from overly ripe fruit, animal dung, and oozing trees. Males are notoriously territorial and dart out to investigate almost any intruder. They return to the same reliable perch but may first stop to sample perspiration-damp skin.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Autauga, Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Calhoun, Chambers, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Covington, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

51 - Bibb - 2/28/2023
29 - Bibb - 3/14/2020
25 - Baldwin - 9/10/2017

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
2	1	1		13	22	25	139	128	123	73	81	27	35	47	72	90	138	77	66	28	18	18	39	37	44	43	39	38	43	50	60	52	81	37	57	52	28	46	65	51	29	13	3	7	1	3	4

Deciduous woodlands with some open space. Often near water.

Question Mark (*Polygonia interrogationis*)

County

© Sara Bright

Creek lined with False Nettle

Trees within the Elm family (Ulmus spp.), hackberries (Celtis spp.), nettles (Urtica spp.), and false nettles (Boehmeria spp.) are reported elsewhere. The following species have been documented in Alabama.

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Including hackberry trees in the landscape provides caterpillar food for at least 6 butterfly species, including Question Marks.

Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) Photos

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Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.