With the recent warm weather, we’re starting to think about our early spring butterflies who we might start seeing in a few weeks!
Which of these butterflies is a Question Mark?
- Left
- Right
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Click below to reveal the answer to this weeks’ quiz!
The Question Mark is on the left. An Eastern Comma is on the right.
The Question Mark can be identified by the mark on their hind wing, which vaguely resembles a squished question mark - with a curved top and a dot underneath. The Question Mark is larger than other commas and has a slower but more powerful flight pattern. If you scare them off, don’t worry, they often will return to their perch. They prefer sap to flowers and are more readily found at the forest edge than in an open field. They are host plant generalists using elms, nettles, hackberry and even invasive species of hops. Some parts of the population are known to migrate south in the fall. They can be seen throughout the spring, summer and fall in Vermont.
The Eastern Comma can be identified by the mark on their hind wing, which is a u-shape with enlarged ends. The males are highly aggressive and can be seen chasing other insects or even birds away from their territories. Their host plants are all members of the elm and nettle families. Like the Question Mark, they prefer sap to flowers and can be found at the margins of forests. They can be seen in Vermont from March to November.
Question Mark by Kent McFarland (iNaturalist)
Eastern Comma by elee58 (iNaturalist)
Ready to test your knowledge about how butterflies avoid predators? Click here!