Polygonia interrogationis
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
Polygonia interrogationis, commonly called the question mark butterfly, is a North American nymphalid butterfly. It lives in wooded areas, city parks, generally in areas with a combination of trees and open space. The color and textured appearance of the underside of its wings combine to provide camouflage that resembles a dead leaf. The adult butterfly has a wingspan of 4.5–7.6 cm (1.8–3.0 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."
Like other species in the order of Lepidoptera, the question mark is a holometabolous insect that undergoes four life stages. These four life stages are embryo (egg), larva (in this case, caterpillar), pupa (chrysalis), and imago (or adult/butterfly).
After the male has found the female perching on a tree or in the grass, courting ensues, after which the mating of the two occurs. Females lay eggs singly or stacked under leaves of plants that are usually not the hosts. The young hatchlings must then find their food source to survive.
Larvae of the... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 6 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Detroit | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Question Mark sighting in Monterrey on a given day, based on 9 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 262nd most-seen of the 413 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July–October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Question Mark in Monterrey on a given day, against under 5% in January–June and November, the lowest months. Those are among Monterrey's wettest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 20 mm in February.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Question Mark sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 16
Of the 16 cities where we can rate Question Mark sightings, Monterrey ranks 15th at under 5%. The best odds are in Austin (United States, about 20%), Dallas (United States, about 20%) and Detroit (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Question Mark that you can see in Monterrey (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Monarch (about 30%), American Snout (about 20%) and Bordered Patch (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Question Mark is recorded against all the insects logged in Monterrey (9 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
