The Butterflies of the World Foundation

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Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis, Fabricius, 1798

Subfamily Nymphalinae

Tribe Nymphalini

Taxonomy

The family Nymphalidae is the largest butterfly family and includes about 6,000 species which are further divided up into 12 subfamilies.  The common name for the family is the Brushfoots or Brushfooted Butterflies.  This strange name is because the first pair of legs are significantly reduced, sometimes to mere stubs, and look like little brushes.  Some of the most common and well known species are in this group such as the Monarch, Red Admiral, Blue Morpho and Painted Lady.  Some of the longest lived butterflies are in this family with some species living over 10 months as adults.  The Brushfoots are distributed worldwide, with the highest diversity found in the tropics.  With this variety, there is also quite a difference in behavior, adult food choices and habitat preference from species to species.

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Polygonia interrogationis, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 5 October 2005                                  Ref #:  I-330-13.3

Polygonia interrogationis, Little Yellowstone Park, Barnes County, North Dakota, 7 August 2004                                                                                          Ref #:  I-284-2.1

Polygonia interrogationis, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 11 May 2007                                            Ref #:  I-372-5.3

Polygonia interrogationis, Little Yellowstone Park, Barnes County, North Dakota, 7 August 2004                                                                                            Ref #:  I-284-4

Polygonia interrogationis, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 11 May 2007                                          Ref #:  I-372-2

Polygonia interrogationis, Lake R. C. Longmire, Garvin County, Oklahoma, 17 May 2007

                                                                                               Ref #:  I-376-2.3

Polygonia interrogationis, Little Yellowstone Park, Barnes County, North Dakota, 7 August 2004                                                                                        Ref #:  I-283-20.1

Polygonia interrogationis, one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 11 May 2007                                          Ref #:  I-371-5

Polygonia interrogationis, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 16 May 2010                                                                 Ref #:  I-436-20

General Information:

Polygonia interrogationis belongs to the subfamily Nymphalinae.  Its range is from southern Canada and all of the eastern United States except peninsular Florida, then west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and south to southern Arizona and Mexico.  Its preferred habitat includes wooded areas with some open space, city parks, suburbs and fence rows.

Lifecycle:

The larval food source includes several trees and plants such as American elm, Ulmus americanus, red elm, Ulmus rubra, hackberry, Celtis sp., Japanese hop, Humulus japonicus, nettles, Urtica sp., and false nettle, Boehmeria cylindrica.  Males find females by perching on leaves or tree trunks in the afternoon, pugnaciously flying to chase other insects, birds, even butterfly photographers.  Females lay eggs singly or stacked under leaves of plants that are usually not the hosts.  Caterpillars must find a host plant and they then eat leaves and live alone.  Adults of the winter form hibernate with some staying in the north, and many others migrating to the south.

Two Question Marks, Polygonia interrogationis, along with one Hackberry Emperor, Asterocampa celtis, working their way down to a sap flow next to a poison ivy vine on a post oak.  There are a cluster of other butterflies directly below the Question Marks.  One half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 11 May 2007                                             Ref #:  I-371-1

Polygonia interrogationis, larva on Elm, Ulmus sp., one half mile south of Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 7 April 2012                Ref #:  I-501-16

Polygonia interrogationis, Pontotoc Ridge Preserve, Pontotoc County, Oklahoma, 18 April 2012                                                                                          Ref #:  I-502-15

Polygonia interrogationis, larvae on hackberry, Celtis sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 12 May 2012                                 Ref #:  I-510-5

Polygonia interrogationis, larva on hackberry, Celtis sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 12 May 2012                              Ref #:  I-510-6.1

Polygonia interrogationis, larva on hackberry, Celtis sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 12 May 2012                             Ref #:  I-509-19.1

Polygonia interrogationis, larva on hackberry, Celtis sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 12 May 2012                              Ref #:  I-510-4.3

Polygonia interrogationis, larvae on hackberry, Celtis sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 12 May 2012                              Ref #:  I-510-16.2

Polygonia interrogationis, pupa on Elm, Ulmus sp., Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 31 May 2012                                       Ref #:  I-520-1.2

Polygonia interrogationis, Lexington Wildlife Management Area, Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 2 June 2012                                                               Ref #:  I-523-16.1