Mourning cloak

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.

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.

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.