We have had colder than normal weather this past week, so I was quite shocked to see a fairly large orange and black butterfly last Friday fluttering about at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Actually, when the butterfly opened its wings I could see its bright colors, but it kept them closed, the butterfly blended in well with the background and look simply like another fallen leaf.
In our area there are two butterflies that are very similar in appearance and I knew that this one was either and Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma) or a Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis) butterfly. I am often amused by the names given to species in nature and I wonder what kind of a personality some has that decides to name two butterfly species after punctuation marks—almost certainly it was a scientist and not an artist.
You can tell the two species apart by the markings on both the outer and inner wings and I concluded that this one is probably a Question Mark. If you are curious about the differences, check out a posting by TrekOhio called “Butterflies that Punctuate: The Eastern Comma and the Question Mark” that goes into some detail in explaining how to tell the species apart.
In the next few days, the weather is supposed to warm up and hopefully more colorful insects will appear (and maybe even some more birds). It’ll be fun to see what I can find and photograph.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
We are amazed by the markings on the wings and the very ends of the antennas. Benjamin thought this was two butterflies because the wings appear quite different on each side. He also pointed out the “new grass” on the ground. We are going now to follow the link. Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
We just read the post from TrekOhio. Benjamin is thrilled that he could find and count the four spots on the wing of this Question Mark Butterfly. He also found the mark on the underside of the wing. He does not understand punctuation yet, but was excited by his discovery. We both enjoyed our morning learning experience. Thank-you again, Mr. Mike!!
Great learning about the punctuation butterflies here and at Trek Ohio, Michael?
Nice captures of the open and closed positions, Mike. Always interesting to find an insect blending in.