Question Mark butterfly "puddling"

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

jmchaffie

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Marketplace
Came upon a Question mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis) "puddling" or sucking up nutrients from moist substances in the leaf litter. The color and textured appearance of the underside of its wings combine to provide camouflage that resembles a dead leaf. 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.

Bethania, NC

Panasonic G85 w/ Olympus 60mm macro Processed with LR and Topaz DeNoise AI

P1130644-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.

P1130692-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
P1130687-Edit-Edit.jpg
You can only see EXIF info for this image if you are logged in.
 
Amazing clarity and sharpness. Were you able to get really close or are the images so sharp that you could crop that heavily?
Appreciate the comment, DDM. I was very close to the critter which seemed rather unperturbed by my presence. The other times I've encountered Question Marks, they have been quite wary. I've read that the second yearly brood hibernate overwinter; guess it was stocking up for the coming cold. From iNaturalist: "As an adult butterfly, the question mark seeks out rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, or carrion as food sources. Only when these are unavailable do question marks visit flowers for nectar. This dietary adaptation is especially beneficial to the late spring / overwintering / early spring brood when nectar sources may be limited."

Top photo is slight crop for centering, middle is uncropped and bottom is cropped to full vertical dimension. Not much room to crop with this 16MP sensor ;)

Had a couple closer images of the eye but they were poorly focused.
 
Appreciate the comment, DDM. I was very close to the critter which seemed rather unperturbed by my presence. The other times I've encountered Question Marks, they have been quite wary. I've read that the second yearly brood hibernate overwinter; guess it was stocking up for the coming cold. From iNaturalist: "As an adult butterfly, the question mark seeks out rotting fruit, tree sap, dung, or carrion as food sources. Only when these are unavailable do question marks visit flowers for nectar. This dietary adaptation is especially beneficial to the late spring / overwintering / early spring brood when nectar sources may be limited."

Top photo is slight crop for centering, middle is uncropped and bottom is cropped to full vertical dimension. Not much room to crop with this 16MP sensor ;)

Had a couple closer images of the eye but they were poorly focused.
Thanks for the reply. I'm impressed!
 
Back
Top