View allAll Photos Tagged questionmark
Order Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths
Superfamily Papilionoidea - Butterflies
Family Nymphalidae - Brushfooted Butterflies
Subfamily Nymphalinae - Crescents, Checkerspots, Anglewings, etc.
Genus Polygonia
Species interrogationis - Question Mark
This must have fallen from its tree since it was on the rock creek bed of Rathburn Run in Ohio.
Four-panel mosaic, 12 5-minute exposures each with my Red system. Durham, NC. Pixinsight, ICE, and Photoshop. Using the mosaic feature of Asiair Plus.
"I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses"
-Dan Baird
Or some such nonsense. More like, me at Gallifrey One costuming as season-26 seventh Doctor. Note the dearth of ribbons; I'll do better next year.
(Photo taken by Honorarydoctor, who can be found on Livejournal.)
The temperatures are expected to reach into the mid-90s today with dew points near 70. It is scorching outside - even insects are feeling the heat. This question mark butterfly was taking a break from the heat just outside our mailbox.
Question Mark Butterfly, (Polygonia interrogationis)
Beech Creek Botanical Garden & Nature Preserve,
Alliance, Ohio
A pic from our collaboration in the "Question Mark": Photography, Light and sound Exhibition, at Warehouse 2, Jaffa port
מתוך "סימן שאלה" תערוכת צילומים, אור וסאונד, מחסן 2, נמל יפו
שיתוף פעולה שלנו עם הצלם חיים יפים ברבלט, איתי מאוטנר ודי ג'יי קותימן
Better, sharper pic than the one i posted before. (It's worth viewing large - the eggs look like tiny little watermelons.)
The question mark butterfly female often lays her eggs in a chain. The eggs in the middle of the chain are less likely to be eaten by predators. Here you can see a chain of six eggs, with one single egg just in front.
I had the amazing pleasure of watching a female lay this chain of eggs on the underside of this elm leaf.
...and a very freash fall/winter form. Note lighter coloring of hind wings, and the more developed "swallowtails". Of the two forms, the fall/winter variety is definitely the prettier of the two.
The Question Mark is a North American nymphalid butterfly. It ranges from southern Canada and all of the eastern United States except the Florida peninsular, west to the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains, and south to southern Arizona and Mexico. They typically live in wooded areas, or generally any area that features a combination of trees and open spaces.
The adult butterfly has a wing span of 2 - 3 inches (5 - 7.5 cm). Its flight season is from May - September. A silver - white mark on the underside of the hindwing is broken into two parts, a curved line and a dot, creating a question (?) shaped mark that gives this species its common name.
This cryptic colored and uniquely shaped creature is one of the few butterflies that overwinter as adults. Hiding in cracks and crevices of wood, they remain inactive through the cold months. Their colors help keep them hidden and safe. This is also a butterfly that doesn’t prefer nectar, but will drink it occasionally. It's preferred food is tree sap, overripe fruit, and animal scat. The scat supplies proteins that the butterfly doesn't get from nectar. This butterfly can tolerate cooler temperatures than most other butterflies can't and as a result is usually one of the first to appear in the spring.
ISO800, aperture f/11, exposure .011 seconds (1/90) focal length 300mm
The Eastern Comma can be differentiated from its closely related cousin the Questionmark (Polygonia interrogationis) by the silvery comma in the middle of the underside of the hind wing that lacks the dot of the Questionmark. It's also smaller in size, has a less strongly hooked forewing margin, shorter hind wing tails, and three in-line black spots on the forewing (as noted above), where as the Questionmark has four, with the forth spot usually being elongated.
ISO800, aperture f/9.5, exposure .011 seconds (1/90) focal length 300mm