Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#1912367
Butterfly with Purple Outline - Polygonia interrogationis

Butterfly with Purple Outline - Polygonia interrogationis
Fayetteville, Washington County, Arkansas, USA
September 26, 2020
Size: 2 inch wingspan
This butterfly kept fluttering through the grass it moved from flower to flower and remained in a clover patch for a while. It was smaller than typical lepidoptera I have seen in the area. It wing pattern also appeared blurry in real life and the picture it looked smudged and not as defined as other patterns.

Question Mark - Moved
This is the fall/spring "fabricii" form.
This form is more bright red/orange in color and often has violet-gray wing edges like your specimen.
Differentiated from Eastern Comma in your area by a horizontal dash mark at outer end of forewing (FW) dot row.

I am going to frass your ventral view image because it has little ID value and not suitable for the guide.
We may have to frass your first photo later due to image quality and we have many in the guide already.
(To get a clearer photo, you would have to use a higher shutter speed to "freeze" the motion in the photo.)

Thank you for your submission and don't give up. Many, including myself, have had images frassed.
Not a big deal. Main think is you learned about a new species.
One has to think about the guide. We do not need to fill the guide up with images that do not help others.
The blurry images just get in the way of the clear images.
Last I checked, we have almost 30 pages of images of this species in the guide.
Thanks again.

Moved from ID Request.

 
Thank you!
I appreciate you helping me identify this butterfly. I really apologize for the quality of the image, I will try the higher shutter speed next time. I appreciate your tips. Thank you so much.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.