March 15, 2025

Mourning Cloak Butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa), native to North America and Eurasia. These butterflies have a remarkable lifespan, living as adults for 10 to 12 months, much longer than the normal life span of 2 to 4 weeks. As adults they feed on sap, ripe and fallen fruits, and honeydew from aphids.

These butterflies overwinter as adults. Favorite spots for spending the winter, tree cavities, cracks in rocks, log piles. On warm days during the winter they will emerge from their hibernation, known as torpor in the insect world, to return to their wintering spot as the weather gets frigid again. One of the first butterflies you may see in late winter, or early spring.

I’ve seen them out and about in the past couple weeks.

_______________________

If you would like to receive my daily blog posts by email, sign up here!