Mourning Cloak

Here's a Mourning Cloak butterfly I met back in April. This is one of our more cold-tolerant butterflies, partly because they don't die in the winter but just enter a period of dormancy until things warm up again. The other reason you can see them early in the season is because they'll drink tree sap that's available before nectar is available from most blooming flowers.

Though I'm sure of my butterfly identification, the Mourning Cloak I met isn't as colorful as ones at their color peak. A brown butterfly with rimmed with purple spots and gold trim at this stage of life looks dark brown with an off-white trim. Still, this fella looks in pretty good condition, with mostly intact wings.

Though I've heard that in large numbers these butterflies can be somewhat damaging to trees, I've never gotten the impression they're numerous enough around me to be worth worrying about. As a native species, tree defenses, predation from other animals, and their parasites presumably keep their numbers low enough that they don't generally cause ecological damage. (In contrast, the Gypsy Moth is an invasive species with much more potential to cause harm.)

April 8, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 120547314, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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