Nature Posts
Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Mourning Cloak Butterfly is native to almost all the northern hemisphere. They have up to a 4” wingspan.
Morning Cloak butterflies are quite unique among butterflies in many ways. They overwinter as adults, generating antifreeze in their bodies. Most butterflies lay eggs or pupate to overwinter. They begin waking up in the spring as soon as the temperature rises above freezing. And they live up to a full year.
They can also shiver to generate body heat, enabling them to fly in colder weather than other butterflies. As a result, they are the first large butterflies to be seen in spring.
Males will claim a territory, typically a nice tree they like, and defend it by doing aerial acrobatics against another male intruder. They feed on tree sap, fresh animal droppings, and carrion rather than on flower nectar like most butterflies do. They obtain the tree sap from wounds in the tree made by other insects.
And although they tend to keep a territory, on special days hundreds of them may meet up temporarily in a dancing swarm. Check them out swarming at Br Stefan’s cabin on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwjuiexMbgI
For a deeper dive into Mourning Cloak Butterflies, see wiki: