Question Mark

Here's a Question Mark butterfly from last summer. These butterflies aren't big fans of nectar - preferring sap or rotting fruit - but that's not what it's doing in this picture. Many butterflies, whether they like nectar or not, have trouble getting minerals they need from their usual food sources. And this one is filling that mineral need from a source most of us would want to avoid stepping in: old, dried out scat.

In the 1st picture you can see the rich orange and black coloring that makes these butterflies look appealing, though that's not the only view of them you could see.

August 23, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 229694637, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

By simply raising the wings and giving you a view of their underwings, they can blend in with leaf litter and other plant debris. While this is admittedly of only partial camouflage help when on dried out scat, take it from me that it can be extremely effective on leaves and downed tree branches.

August 23, 2022 at Duke Farms
Photo 229694652, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)



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