Spring Firefly vs Question Mark Butterfly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Spring Firefly Question Mark Butterfly
Scientific Name Photinus ardens Polygonia interrogationis
Order Coleoptera Lepidoptera
Family Lampyridae Nymphalidae
Size 5-8 mm 45-76 mm wingspan
Habitat Woodlands Woodlands
Diet Predators Sap Feeders
Regions North America North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Spring Firefly

A small early-season firefly of the eastern United States with a distinctive fast double-pulse flash pattern. It has a dark body with a pinkish-red pronotum and is among the first fireflies to appear each year.

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Did You Know?

This species often begins flashing earlier in the evening than most other North American fireflies.

Question Mark Butterfly

Orange butterfly with dark spots and irregular wing margins. A silvery question-mark shape on the underside of the hindwing gives it its name.

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Did You Know?

It rarely visits flowers, preferring to feed on fermenting fruit, sap, and animal dung.