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NYMPHALIS ANTIOPA
MOURNING CLOAK
Camberwell beauty

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Classification

Phylum Arthropoda

Class Insecta

Order Lepidoptera

Family Nymphalidae

Genus Nymphalis

Species N. Antiopa

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EUROPEAN RED LIST OF BUTTERFLIES

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nymphalis antiopa caterpilar

Nymphalis Antiopa caterpilar

NYMPHALIS ANTIOPA
MOURNING CLOAK

Nymphalis antiopa, mourning cloak in North America & the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. They are a part of the family Nymphalidae, called the brush-footed butterflies due to their hairy front legs.

These butterflies have a lifespan of 11 to 12 months, one of the longest lifespans for any butterfly.

The mourning cloak butterfly is a large, unique butterfly, with special markings that do not match those of any other butterfly, making it easily distinguishable. It can have a wingspan up to four inches. The dorsal side of its wings are a dark maroon, or occasionally brown, with ragged pale-yellow edges. Bright, iridescent blue spots line the black demarcation between the maroon and the yellow. The ventral side of the wings has gray striations, with the same pale-yellow edges. The species does not display any obvious sexual dimorphism.

They can usually be found in hardwood forests, though they have been found in virtually all habitats. They may also be found as far as the northern part of South America, though they are typically not seen as frequently in southern states such as Florida, Louisiana, or Texas. They are occasionally seen in the more temperate places in Asia, and a few have even been seen in Japan. However, the mourning cloaks tend to be found predominantly in cold, mountainous areas.

The adult butterflies hibernate during the winter months. Typical locations of overwintering include tree cavities and on the ground underneath loose tree bark (covered by snow). They often emerge from hibernation before the snow has completely melted, making it one of the first butterflies to take wing in the spring.

Mourning cloak eggs are amber-yellow or pale olive-green when first laid. Upon further development, the coloration of the eggs will change, becoming lilac-pink, and darkening to almost black, as they mature prior to hatching. The eggs are generally 0.7 by 0.9 mm in size. Laid on terminal shoots of the larval food-plant, encircling the stem. Later in season, when the leaves appear, females also lay the eggs on the upper surface.

The spiny caterpillars are striking in appearance, with black bodies and a line of eight reddish-orange dots running down the back (aposematic, warning coloration). The prolegs are dark red. The body is covered with short hairs and black spines and white dots.The fully grown mourning cloak caterpillars attain two inches in length.

Upon hatching, the caterpillars will begin to eat the leaves of the larval food-plant. A larger number of food-plant plants were recorded, such as willow (Salix nigra, Salix pentandra, Salix caprea, Salix aurita, Salix cinerea, Salix phylicifolia), American elm, hackberry, hawthorn, wild rose, Betula species (Betula verrucosa, Betula chinensis), Alnus incana and poplar. The caterpillars live gregariously in communal silken nest on the host-plant, until they disperse prior to pupation.

Adult mourning cloaks primarily feed on sap, ripe and fallen fruits and sugary exudate from aphids, very rarely seen nectaring on flowers.

An anti-predation mechanism the mourning cloaks have employed as adult butterflies is camouflage. To do this, the butterflies fold their wings back when attached to trees as their folded wings will provide camouflage against the dark backdrop of the trees.

An additional anti-predation tactic used by the mourning cloaks is to join together with other butterflies in a perch and fly menacingly towards their attackers—most often birds or other butterflies.

Mourning cloaks also play dead by closing their wings tightly together and tucking their legs up against their body for protection and holding completely still. They’ll maintain this for a few minutes before returning to their natural healthy and lively behavior.

Further defense mechanisms include loud clicks when the mourning cloak flies away from a predator.


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