Question mark butterfly

Polygonia interrogationis

Butterfly

Ragged-edged orange anglewing named for the small silver question-mark shape on the underside of the hindwing. Caterpillars use a mixed host palette that includes elms, hackberries, hops, nettles, false nettle, and clearweed; adults behave more like woodland sap-feeders than flower specialists, visiting tree sap, rotting fruit, carrion, and dung before turning to nectar. The winter-form adults shelter through cold weather, making them one of the early butterflies on warm spring days.

Conservation

Globally secure (NatureServe G5) and assessed Least Concern by the IUCN; not a US-listed species. The useful garden action is to keep host trees and weedy-edge larval hosts available, plus tolerate sap/fruit-feeding habitat rather than treating the species as a nectar-border-only butterfly.

Plants in the catalog

Larval host plants · 2

American elm

Ulmus americana

Documented

American elm is listed among the question mark butterfly larval hosts; DED-tolerant elm plantings can therefore support this woodland anglewing as well as eastern comma and mourning cloak.

Common hackberry

Celtis occidentalis

Documented

BAMONA and the species literature list hackberries (Celtis) among question mark butterfly larval hosts; common hackberry is the catalog Celtis anchor for this documented genus-level relationship.

Range

Southern Canada and the eastern United States west to the eastern Rocky Mountains, with southern records into Arizona and Mexico; migratory and multi-brooded in much of the range.

Sources & citations

Cite this page

Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife page. The source cards below show the upstream references behind the taxonomy, range, conservation, host, forage, and habitat claims.

Plotwright. (n.d.). Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis). Retrieved 2026, June 27, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/question-mark-butterfly

Sources for wildlife facts

11 cited fact fields are backed by the source cards below.

Butterflies and Moths of North America: Question mark

Species profile for host plants, adult food sources, range, and overwintering behavior.

Backs 5 fields

Taxonomy

Range

Lifecycle

Host plants

Foraging

Open source

Source guide