What do question mark butterflies eat?

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When the caterpillars appear, they must find a host plant to feed on. Caterpillar host plants include American and red elms; hackberry; hops; and nettles. Upon maturity, adult question mark butterflies will feed on rotting fruit, tree sap, carrion, and animal waste.



In this regard, what is a question mark butterfly?

The question mark, Polygonia interrogationis (Fabricius), is a common, medium-sized butterfly of wooded areas and suburbs that is often, but not always, associated with moist areas. With its wings folded, it resembles a dead leaf and is highly cryptic.

Furthermore, are comma butterflies rare? Threats and conservation While the comma was once a rare sight in Britain, it is now the ultimate butterfly success story after having a huge increase in the last 40 years. It is believed climate change and the increase in temperatures are the reason this butterfly is thriving.

Besides, where is the question mark on a question mark butterfly?

The white question mark on the underside of the forewings is small and incomplete, but the curve and dot are clear. Males perch on branches, surveying their territory and scouting for females. They chase away intruders like other butterflies, flying insects, and sometimes small birds.

How long do tortoiseshell butterflies live?

For example one butterfly studied in Costa Rica had a life expectancy of about two days, and live ten days at the most. No adult butterfly can live more than a year. The Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) adult and some related tortoiseshells and anglewings that hatch in early summer may live almost a year.

23 Related Question Answers Found

Why is it called a question mark butterfly?

Question Mark Butterfly. Question mark butterflies (Polygonia interrogationis) get their name from their wings. The underside is light brown; the hindwings have a pearly-white question mark in the center, giving the butterfly its name.

Are blue morpho butterflies poisonous?

Are blue morpho butterflies poisonous? Yes. As caterpillars, the leaves they feed on contained a poisonous compound which then makes them toxic to predators as adults.

Is a monarch butterfly an arthropod?

They are cattergorized in the Arthropoda Phylum. The Arthropoda Phylum characteristics include having a segmented body and having the tagmata, the three basic parts of an insect which includes the head, thorax and abdomen. Monarch butterflies belong in the Insecta Class. This Class includes all insects.

What does a Comma butterfly look like?

What does a comma butterfly look like? The comma is bright orange with dark brown markings on its wings. The underside displays a distinctive small, white 'comma' shape from which it takes its name. Perhaps the most distinctive characteristic of this butterfly is not the colour of its wings but their ragged appearance.

Where does the orange tip butterfly live?


This butterfly is found throughout England, Wales and Ireland, but is somewhat-local further north and especially in Scotland. In most regions this butterfly does not form discrete colonies and wanders in every direction as it flies along hedgerows and woodland margins looking for a mate, nectar sources or foodplants.

What do small copper butterflies eat?

What do Copper Butterflies eat? The primary diet of the adult butterflies includes daisies, dandelions, buckwheat blossoms, thistles, heathers, ragworts, buttercups and red clovers. They get water and other nutrients from sucking wet sand and mud along streams and riverbanks.

Do peacock butterflies migrate?

It has nomadic instinct and instead of having permanent home, it travels all the time. Just like all other butterflies, peacock butterfly can detect red, green and yellow color. Peacock butterflies live in temperate areas and they need to hibernate to survive low temperatures and lack of food during the winter period.

What do brimstone butterflies eat?

Brimstone butterflies are a yellow/green colour and quite easy to spot. They eat the nectar of flowers and their favourites are probably thistles. They eat as much as they can in order to keep them going during their hibernation.

What do meadow brown butterflies eat?

It also occurs in parks, gardens and cemeteries. It even flies in dull weather when other butterflies are inactive. Adults can be seen in large numbers, flying low over the grass and flowers. Caterpillars feed on a variety of grasses such as fescues, bents and meadow-grasses.

What do holly blue butterflies eat?


What they eat: Adults drink oozing sap, aphid honeydew and carrion juices. Caterpillars usually eat holly and ivy, but also dogwood, spindle and heathers.

What can I feed a butterfly?

To feed butterflies, make your own nectar by mixing 1 part sugar with 4 parts warm water. Then, put the nectar outside in a bottle cap or butterfly feeder so butterflies can eat it. Alternatively, you can place some rotting fruit outside, like strawberries, apples, or bananas.

How do butterflies die?

After mating the butterfly has done what it was created for – to continue the species. Males will die 6-8 weeks after using up all their sperm mating with a succession of females. Similarly the female will die after she has laid all her eggs – usually between 300 and 400 although one monarch laid over 1,000 eggs!

Do butterflies bite?

Butterflies don't bite because they can't. Caterpillars munch on leaves and eat voraciously with their chewing mouthparts, and some of them do bite if they feel threatened. But once they become butterflies, they only have a long, curled proboscis, which is like a soft drinking straw—their jaws are gone.

Do butterflies sleep?

Butterflies don't actually sleep. Instead they rest, or become quiescent, at night or during the day when it's cloudy or cool. They rest with eyes open, typically hidden amid the foliage and hanging upside down from leaves or twigs in trees and shrubs.

Why do I keep finding butterflies in my house?


They come in during late summer/early autumn, when it is still warm outside and our houses appear to provide suitably cool, sheltered, dry conditions. However, come Christmas, when the central heating is cranked up, such butterflies may be awoken prematurely by high indoor temperatures.

What does it mean when a butterfly enters your home?

If a brown butterfly enters the house it means that an important letter or message will arrive soon. Some believe that when a brown (or white) butterfly enters the house it is the spirit or soul of a deceased loved one from the distant past. The color green and brown signify bills and money.

How do you get a butterfly out of your room?

There actually are simple If it is fluttering then open a window. If the ceiling is low enough, use a broom, or some similar item with a long stick, to encourage it towards the window. If it is not fluttering, it may be starting hibernation, so live and let live, and let it stay where it has chosen to be.