Monarchs are butterflies with orange, black-veined wings. Each wing has a black border with rows of white dots. Their wingspan of 93 to 105 mm makes them some of the largest butterflies in Quebec.
Males have two tiny black spots on the top of their hind wings. The black bands on the females’ wings are also wider.
Adults have bright rust-coloured wings with several black spots. Females have black marks on the edges of their wings.
This butterfly’s wingspan ranges from 6.5 to 7.5 cm. Their orange colour contrasts with their black ribs. There is one row of white spots along the wide black edge of their wings.
This butterfly’s wingspan ranges from 5.5 to 6 cm. Its forewings are black with white spots and a red stripe. Its lower wings are marbled brown and black, with an orange spot on the edge.
The question mark is one of the largest and loveliest of the Polygonia butterflies. Its wings are rust-coloured with many black and pale lilac spots close to the edges. The silver mark shaped like a question mark on the underside of its lower wings is where it gets its English and Latin name. A narrow lilac band runs around the edge of the top side of its wings, while the underside is a uniform shade of rust. The butterfly’s wingspan ranges from 4.5 to 6.5 cm.
This large butterfly has a wingspan of 6 to 8 cm. Its wings are purplish brown, with a line of blue spots along a yellow border. Males and females look alike.
This beautiful butterfly has orange wings with black and white spots. The brown colouring of the butterfly’s thorax extends to the inner area of its wings. The back of its wings is lighter in colour and the edge of the lower wing has a row of eyespots.
The caterpillar and chrysalid of this butterfly look like bird droppings, which protects them from predators. Adults have two pairs of black wings with white stripes. The edge of their bottom wings features reddish-orange and blue spots. The front and back of their wings are different colours, but both sides feature white bands that look like an admiral’s stripes. Their wingspan ranges from 47 to 78 mm. Females look like males, except slightly bigger.
All brush-footed butterflies have an atrophied first pair of feet that are covered with long hairs, like the bristles of a brush. Because of this, they are easy to identify, as they walk on four legs instead of six like other butterflies.
