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Nymphalis antiopa

(Mourning Cloak)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Dutch:

Rouwmantel

Common Names in English:

Mourning Cloak, Camberwell Beaty, Camberwell Beauty, Mourning Cloak Butterfly, Mourningcloak, Mourningcloak Butterfly, Spiny Elm Caterpillar

Common Names in French:

Chenille épineuse De L'orme, Morio

Common Names in Serbian:

Kraljev Plašt

Description

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Family Nymphalidae

'The Nymphalidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Distributed worldwide, butterflies of this family are especially rich in the tropics. They are highly variable, and there are more species in this family than in any other. Adults vary in size from small to large, and their front legs are reduced, unable to be used for walking. Wing shape is also highly variable: some species have irregular margins (anglewings and commas), and others have long taillike projections (daggerwings). Browns, oranges, yellows, and blacks are frequent colors, while iridescent colors such as purples and blues are rare. Adults of some groups are the longest-lived butterflies, surviving 6-11 months. Adult feeding behavior depends on the species, where some groups primarily seek flower nectar while others only feed on sap flows , rotting fruit, dung, or animal carcasses. Males exhibit perching and patrolling behaviors when seeking mates. Egg-laying varies widely, as some species lay eggs in clustsers, others in columns, and others singly. Caterpillar appearance and behavior vary widely. Brushfoots overwinter as larvae or adults.

'[1]

Subfamily Nymphalinae

Brushfoots are the most prevalent members of the Family Nymphalinae. Distributed worldwide, this is a diverse group that contains several tribes , each with somewhat different structural and biological features. Adults of North American species are predominantly orange, brown, and black. Wing shape and mating systems are variable. Most checkerspots and crescentspots patrol for mates, while the remainder of groups exhibit either perching or perching and patrolling . Migration varies widely; some strong migrants are found in the lady butterflies, tortoiseshells, and anglewings, while other species are local in occurrence. Most species limit their host plants to a few species, but the Painted Lady has one of the widest host palettes of all butterflies. Eggs are laid singly or clustered in groups, and caterpillars be found feeding alone or communally. Brushfoots overwinter as young caterpillars or hibernating adults.[2]

Physical Description

Species Nymphalis antiopa

One of the most widespread and beautiful species in the hemisphere, Nymphalis antiopa contradicts much standard butterfly behavior. Easily identified, the dorsal surface is a deep plum-purple, bordered by a single row of bright blue dots and yellow margins (pale in older butterflies, bright in newly emerged ones). The edges of the wings are sharply angular. The mourning cloak³ appearance makes confusion with other species unlikely.[3]

Short projections on both wings, borders irregular. Upperside is purple-black with a wide, bright yellow border on outer margins, and a row of iridescent blue spots at the inner edge of the border. (ref. 105968)

Color:

Short projections on both wings , borders irregular. Upperside is purple-black with a wide, bright yellow border on outer margins , and a row of iridescent blue spots at the inner edge of the border.

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 2 1/4 - 4 inches (5.7 - 10.1 cm).

The approximate life span for most butterflies in the United States is from four days to two weeks. The mourning cloak is the longest-lived of North American butterflies, some individuals living as long as 10 months.[3]

Adults over-winter in hibernation (usually in hollow trees ) and emerge on warmer winter days to feed on tree sap or, if available, fermented fruit. Like all insects, it is cold-blooded, but warms itself by seeking sunlight, basking with its dark wings open to absorb warmth. When the temperature rises , the photosensitive butterfly moves into the shade, closing its wings to reduce heat absorption . The seemingly blind prediction—that the butterfly flying over the snow is a mourning cloak—has foundation. What about the claim that it’s a female? The species name , antiopa, was given to the butterfly by Linnaeus, who named a lot of things in the 1700s and who was one of the species’ keenest observers . Antiopa was queen of the Amazons, a tribe of women in Greek mythology. Of course Linnaeus may have picked the name for some other reason, but only in the past 10 years have studies shown that mourning cloaks that live through the winter are exclusively female.[3]

Habitat

Because Mourning Cloaks roam and migrate, they are found almost anywhere that host plants occur including woods , openings, parks, and suburbs; and especially in riparian areas.

Most individuals are seen inside or along the margins of hardwood forests . Migrants, however, may be seen flying across roads and other open country. Mourning Cloaks are often seen flying through forests that do not have full leaf cover -- early or mid-spring before leaves have completely emerged, or October when leaves are beginning to drop. They may be seen along forest trails and dirt roads through forests, but they are not typically found in open country. (ref. 104710)

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,500 meters (0 to 8,202 feet).[4]

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Willows including black willow (Salix nigra), weeping willow (S. babylonica), and silky willow (S. sericea); also American elm (Ulmus americana), cottonwood (Populus deltoides), aspen (P. tremuloides), paper birch (Betula papyrifera), and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Older caterpillars wander about and may be found on plants that they do not eat. Adult food: Mourning Cloaks prefer tree sap , especially that of oaks. They walk down the trunk to the sap and feed head downward. They will also feed on rotting fruit, and only occasionally on flower nectar.

The foodplants are various trees and shrubs -- willows, birches, elms, cottonwoods, etc. The species does not normally nectar at flowers; instead, it feeds on sap, decaying fruit, moist spots on trails and roads, and so forth. (ref. 104710)

Reproduction

Overwintered adults mate in the spring , the males perching in sunny openings during the afternoon to wait for receptive females. Eggs are laid in groups circling twigs of the host plant. Caterpillars live in a communal web and feed together on young leaves, then pupate and emerge as adults in June or July. After feeding briefly, the adults estivate until fall , when they re-emerge to feed and store energy for hibernation. Some adults migrate south in the fall.

Later in the spring, after leaves have turned green and the chrysalis in the classroom has hatched, butterflies of all descriptions are visiting flowers and mud puddles—all but the mourning cloak. There is a spring hiatus when adults are rarely seen. Before she dies, the female has laid her eggs on one of several host plants such as black willow, aspen, cottonwood, or stinging nettle.[3]

Hatched caterpillars are black with several rows of spines, a row of red spots down the back, and white specks along the sides. Mature larvae undergo a quick metamorphosis in the chrysalis (two to four weeks) and emerge as adults. The second of two broods emerges in late summer or early fall. It is then, when the butterflies of summer have begun to fade in color and die, when leaves have begun to turn and the new school year is about to begin, that the mourning cloak is freshest and most beautiful.[3]

Behavior

Flight: Usually one flight from June-July.

Flight period: This butterfly has the longest life-span (brood) of any species in the eastern United States, up to about 11 months. The species overwinters as an adult , with these butterflies on the wing on warm winter days, but mainly from mid-February to mid-June, when worn individuals are seen. The new brood is on the wing from mid-May into mid-June downstate, and until mid- or late July in the mountains. Adults then aestivate during the summer, and then fly sporadically in fall (generally October). Some dates refer to migratory individuals. (ref. 104710)

Taxonomy

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Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Nymphalis

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 10 species and subspecies in this genus:

N. antiopa (Mourning Cloak) · N. californica (California Tortoiseshell) · N. californica herri (Herr's Tortoise Shell) · N. milberti (Milbert's Tortoiseshell) · N. milberti milberti (Milbert's Tortoiseshell) · N. polychloros (Blackleg Tortoiseshell) · N. polychloros polychloros (Blackleg Tortoiseshell) · N. urticae (Mountain Tortoiseshell) · N. vaualbum (Compton Tortoiseshell) · N. xanthomelas (Yellow-Legged Tortoiseshell)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 26, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=18&sci=Nymphalidae&com=Brush-footed Butterflies [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Editha&search=Search [back]
  3. New Mexico Wildlife. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Version of April 24, 2009. [back]
  4. Mean = 203.300 meters (666.995 feet), Standard Deviation = 297.440 based on 6,479 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012