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Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis

Photo by meganhartson
Published on Project Noah
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44.7631, -85.6206

Species ID Suggestions

Question Mark

Polygonia interrogationis

Reference Link
gatorfellows
1

Eastern Comma

Polygonia comma

Reference Link
gatorfellows
1

Comments (8)
gatorfellows
Good luck. This was a nice spotting and one of my favorite kinds of butterflies. Sometimes in winter here they come out of hibernation and cheer my hikes.
meganhartson
Okay I will try to put it in a container with moisture in a towel. Thanks again :)
gatorfellows
If you must absolutely know because dead butterflies dry our very quickly, collectors use a simple method to relax the wings. Put the butterfly in a container on a damp paper towel. It will rehydrate a bit and usually you can get the muscles loose enough to snap the other way. The down side is the specimen can mold quickly. Or you can just wait till you are through sketching and break a wing off and look for the mark.
meganhartson
I believe it looks more like the Question Mark the wing just isn't as fancy looking as the other Comma Mark. But its still hard to tell. It has been dead for a couple days now and the wings are hard to open to see the underside.
gatorfellows
Which one did you pick the one with the comma mark or the question mark? Wing apex looked more like a question to me.
meganhartson
Thanks gatorfellows thats what I thought it was but it was hard to tell from the sketch in my ID book.
gatorfellows
This is a Question Mark or Comma butterfly. The ID marks are on the underwings. The wings in the photo are the top wings. Often in death, a butterflies muscles will collapse the wings in a closed down not up position. Here is a side by side comparison resource for you. http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabambc/frames-2species.asp?sp1=Polygonia-interrogationis&sp2=Polygonia-comma
Photographed
PublishedJuly 13, 2012

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