Mourning Cloak

Mourning Cloaks mate in early Spring. Females lay eggs on a host plant. A host plant is the plant that caterpillars need to eat. Every butterfly has only certain plants it will eat. Mourning Cloak caterpillars eat willow, American Elm, poplar, hackberry, wild rose, and hawthorns. They are most often seen on Black Willow. Eggs are laid in groups. They are pale yellow at first. Then they turn red, then black before they hatch.

The Mourning Cloak is a large butterfly, with a wingspan of up to three and a half inches. It is easy to identify by its markings. No other butterfly looks like this one. Mourning Cloaks are very dark brownish-maroon with pale, cream-colored edges, which often look ragged. They have bright blue spots along the edges. Underneath, the Mourning Cloak's wings are blackish-brown. If you look carefully, you can see some green markings. This butterfly is perfectly camouflaged when it rests on a tree trunk with its wings folded back. Mourning Cloaks are seen in open woods, parks, gardens, and along the edges of streams, lakes, and ponds. Mourning Cloaks drink from some nectar plants (like Milkweed and Red Maple), rotting fruit, tree sap (especially oaks), mud puddles, and even animal poop. By visiting flowers for nectar, they help pollinate plants.
In North America, N. antiopa ranges from the northern tundra to central Mexico. It is also found throughout continental Europe to eastern Siberia and Japan. Migrants arrive in Great Britain most years during summer and autumn, but numbers are usually very low. There is no evidence that the species breeds in Britain; it is thought that mild, wet winters prevent them from surviving there for very long. The 'Butterfly Farmer' L. Hugh Newman raised thousands for release at his 'farm' in Bexley, but none were seen the following spring. Specimens stored in his refrigerator for the winter survived however.

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