Stats

Lifespan: 10-12 months
Size: Large
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The Mourning Cloak is one of North America's longest-lived butterflies, overwintering as an adult under bark or in hollow trees so it can emerge on warm days in late winter. Its deep maroon-brown wings are rimmed with a bright yellow border and a row of iridescent blue spots.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Nymphalis
Species: Nymphalis antiopa