---
title: "Question Mark"
description: "Polygonia interrogationis — Insects & spiders. Polygonia interrogationis, commonly called the question mark butterfly, is a North American nymphalid butterfly."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/question-mark
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Question Mark

> Polygonia interrogationis — Insects & spiders. Polygonia interrogationis, commonly called the question mark butterfly, is a North American nymphalid butterfly.

- Scientific name: *Polygonia interrogationis*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `urban` (Towns & gardens)
- iNaturalist observations: 56368
- Wikidata: [Q3130138](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3130138)
- iNaturalist taxon: [58579](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/58579)

## Names

- en: Question Mark
- es: Mariposa alas de ángel interrogación
- fr: Polygone à queue violacée

## Countries with the most observations

US (47647), CA (5397), MX (170)

## Summary

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."

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonia_interrogationis

## Photo

![Question Mark](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/question-mark/medium.jpg)

Photo: Nonbinary-Naturalist · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/69438906

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/question-mark?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).