Question mark
Click for greater clarity.
The last time you saw an Ashe juniper, Juniperus ashei, looking orangeish-brown, it was from a zillion little pollen-laden cones. Here it’s just from one thing, a question mark butterfly, Polygonia interrogationis, a species making its debut in these pages today. This picture is from February 13th in my neighborhood.
This has been an unusually insecty week, with pictures of a wasp, then an ant, and now a butterfly.
© 2014 Steven Schwartzman
I’ve never seen that type of butterfly! what a totally GORGEOUS creature. Are they common there?
SmallHouseBigGarden
March 1, 2014 at 6:18 AM
They’re not among the most common butterflies I see, but they’re not rare, either. John and Gloria Tveten write that this species “ranges throughout most of eastern North America, from southern Canada to central Mexico.”
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 7:51 AM
Wonderful shot of this butterfly. I continue to be amused by the fact that there are Comma and Question Mark butterflies and that it’s sometimes tough to tell them apart–proper punctuation is tough.
Mike Powell
March 1, 2014 at 6:21 AM
That is amusing! Are there any other punctuated butterflies?
Gallivanta
March 1, 2014 at 7:15 AM
Not that I am aware of (though sometimes I like to make up names for species I can’t identify).
Mike Powell
March 1, 2014 at 7:16 AM
Somewhat like species seem to get their names, anyway.
Gallivanta
March 1, 2014 at 7:27 PM
Maybe lepidopterists can do some selective breeding to transform the question mark into a semicolon.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 8:00 AM
Or an apostrophe?
Gallivanta
March 1, 2014 at 7:46 PM
It might be hard to tell an apostrophe apart from a comma.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 8:59 PM
This blog is not political, but I can’t resist: If you like your comma and question mark butterflies, you can keep them. Period.
John and Gloria Tveten write that “all of the other anglewings in the same genus, sometimes collectively called ‘commas,’ are smaller than the question mark and have only a single silver comma mark, without the dot below it.”
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 7:57 AM
I have seen Comma buterflies, but not heard of the Question Mark! When I saw this photo I thought it WAS a Comma. I still don’t see a ?
Heyjude
March 1, 2014 at 10:47 AM
The ? is on the underside, and that’s why you don’t see it in this photograph. If you follow the second link in the post’s text, there are various photographs of this species, in some of which you can see the purported question mark.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 11:51 AM
OK. will do 🙂
Heyjude
March 1, 2014 at 3:12 PM
I’ve been sitting and looking — and looking — at photos of the underside of this little gem, and have to admit that, no matter how hard I try, I can’t see the marking as a question mark. What I did find were several reports that they’re especially friendly to humans and can be coaxed to light on a hand fairly easily. It’s a lovely butterly, and one I don’t believe I’ve ever seen.
shoreacres
March 1, 2014 at 7:54 AM
Here is a link to what one looks like when it’s closed up. You can see the marking, though it doesn’t exactly look like a question mark. http://michaelqpowell.wordpress.com/2012/08/22/comma-or-question-mark/
Mike Powell
March 1, 2014 at 8:21 AM
Ah ha: I see in your post that you also entertained the idea of a semicolon butterfly. Long live punctuation.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 8:41 AM
I guess punctuation is in the eye of the beholder. It—punctuation, not this butterfly—is also an endangered species, thanks to texting and a poor school system.
I had a worse-for-wear question mark butterfly (in its summer form) land on my shirt 15 years ago:
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 8:22 AM
It posed very nicely for you.
Jim in IA
March 1, 2014 at 11:18 AM
It did. I wish it had spread its wings all the way, but I take whatever I can get.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 11:47 AM
Outstanding in all respects, Steve….well, maybe a bit more spread as you mentioned. And, at the risk of being repetitive…arrggh!
Steve Gingold
March 1, 2014 at 1:53 PM
Yes, and this butterfly was out two weeks ago. I figure that’s one arrggh per week.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 2:10 PM
You got a very good model there. Perfect!
bentehaarstad
March 1, 2014 at 2:19 PM
And the model’s color harmonized nicely with the green of the juniper.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 2:24 PM
When I was a kid I was quite the butterfly enthusiast, so I should know the answer to this question … which is … question mark? I liked the texture of the thorax and the fact that the antennae were exactly coplanar (and therefore in precise focus). Bottomline … really nice shot. D
Pairodox Farm
March 1, 2014 at 3:15 PM
Between the one-syllable cope and the four-syllable copasetic you’ve now interpolated the three-syllable and two-dimensional coplanar.
Just the other day I was thinking about a familiar example of the Duality Principle: In space, three points (not all collinear) determine a plane, and three planes (none of which are parallel) determine a point.
But let me deplane and get back to the butterfly: its soft thoracic texture caught my fancy, too.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 3:49 PM
You have always struck me as a bit of a riddler … I’ve always liked those that appear in the Hobbit … my favorite … “A box without hinges, key or lid,Yet golden treasure inside is hid.” What is it?
Pairodox Farm
March 1, 2014 at 6:28 PM
My botanical answer from Austin is Tetragonotheca texana. The four-sided bud is a box of sorts,
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2012/07/28/a-nerve-ray-bud/
and the flower head that emerges when the box opens has golden rays:
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/a-double-dose-of-four-nerves/
Somehow I don’t think that’s what Tolkien had in mind, but he might have had if he’d lived in Texas.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 8:56 PM
This is really cool. The position of the butterfly on the juniper makes it look like you superimposed it into the photo. As always I love the detail and sharp lines you’ve captured.
And I think I say every time that I can’t believe it didn’t take off, well I can’t help myself from repeating that here because come on, it’s a butterfly!!
😉
eLPy
eLPy
March 1, 2014 at 10:24 PM
I know what you mean about the butterfly looking superimposed; I had that impression myself when I saw this picture, even though I took it and knew the butterfly had really been on the juniper.
Sometimes butterflies (or other animals) do take off before I can get a good picture, and like any photographer I have my share of failures, but I show a photograph only if I think it’s reasonably good.
Steve Schwartzman
March 1, 2014 at 11:02 PM
We have a very similar looking butterfly native to the UK called a Comma 🙂 There are a couple pictured in this post of mine http://miradordesign.wordpress.com/2014/02/12/travel-theme-yellow/
I suspect that the two species are closely related! Great picture and thanks for enlightening me 🙂
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
March 2, 2014 at 6:57 AM
And there’s a species of comma butterfly in North America, too, Polygonia comma:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonia_comma
I found this about the genus:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonia
Now we’re both enlightened.
Steve Schwartzman
March 2, 2014 at 8:49 AM
Awesome! It’s quite fascinating that so many species of Polygonia are found right across the Northern Hemisphere 🙂 Your Question Mark seems to have the most defined wing edge.
Sarah Longes - Mirador Design
March 2, 2014 at 9:04 AM
Wow. Fantastic lighting and color.
norasphotos4u
March 2, 2014 at 8:14 PM
Hi, Nora. I appreciate your enthusiasm.
Steve Schwartzman
March 2, 2014 at 8:17 PM
This is absolutely beautiful Steve!
Michael Glover
March 2, 2014 at 9:14 PM
Thanks for saying so, Michael.
Steve Schwartzman
March 2, 2014 at 11:11 PM
Glorious creature!
kathryningrid
March 2, 2014 at 11:22 PM
And one that you can find near you, too.
Steve Schwartzman
March 3, 2014 at 7:02 AM
What a wonderful shot! Apostrophe. Comma. This butterfly needs some editorial work. 🙂
FeyGirl
March 3, 2014 at 9:01 AM
I’m a good editor, so maybe this butterfly and its kin will hire me.
Steve Schwartzman
March 3, 2014 at 10:42 AM
Something quite amusing about the Latin name. Seems almost made up!
Susan Scheid
March 5, 2014 at 4:49 PM
Well of course it is made up! We’re used to thinking of a polygon as a closed figure having many sides, but the word actually means ‘many angles.’ With regard to these butterflies, the reference is to the many ‘angles’ along the wings’ edges.
I’ve learned that some biologists have quite a sense of humor. For example, the prevalent species of Smilax here is named bona-nox, which is Latin for ‘good night.’ This plant is a sharply thorny vine, so somebody who encountered one in the dark would have anything but a good night.
Steve Schwartzman
March 5, 2014 at 5:01 PM
Oh, I walked right into that one, didn’t I? But I’m glad I did, because your response is loaded with entertaining language tidbits!
Susan Scheid
March 5, 2014 at 5:05 PM
You might find this post on Smilax bona-nox entertaining, as I did; I went hunting because I wondered if the fruit/berries of Greenbrier were poisonous (or thought to be), giving a different meaning to the ‘good night’ name. Haven’t seen anything to back that idea, but of course I happened on all sorts of other bits of fun and interest along the way. Ah, the meanderings on which language sends us!
kathryningrid
March 5, 2014 at 6:23 PM
I always found those meanderings a lot of fun in a good library, but with the huge expansion of the Internet over the last two decades, it’s so much easier to make connections. Not only that, but some of the connections occur in places I never would have known to look for. Now if we could only rely on the validity of what we find on websites….
As for Smilax bona-nox, Delena Tull says in Edible and Useful Plants of Texas and the Southwest: “Though the blue-black berries… probably are not toxic, they are not considered edible.” Note the “probably.”
Steve Schwartzman
March 5, 2014 at 8:00 PM
Excellent!
absengeralois
March 8, 2014 at 12:49 PM
It’s hard not to love a butterfly like this one, isn’t it?
Steve Schwartzman
March 8, 2014 at 12:55 PM