When you are out butterflying, you usually look for field marks but often times you will only get a quick glimpse at a butterflies’ shape. Can you tell a species from its’ silhouette? Let’s try it out!
Which of the butterflies below is a Question Mark?
Click below to reveal the answer to this weeks’ quiz.
A very difficult quiz this week and probably because both of these butterflies are in the same family of Anglewings, which are marked by scalloped, uneven wings, a squared off forewing tip, forewing with a slight hook and short tails off the hindwing.
The butterfly on the right is the Question Mark. The butterfly on the left is the Eastern Comma.
Original photos:
How do you tell the two apart from their silhouettes? Not easily - the primary difference is that the forewing tip is more strongly hooked in the Question Mark than the Eastern Comma. Probably best to stick with looking for the wing comma!
Question Mark by Kent McFarland (iNaturalist)
Eastern Comma by Tracy Sherbrook (iNaturalist)
Ready for the next quiz? Click here!
