Mourning Cloak

Nymphalis antiopa — the mourning cloak in North America, the Camberwell Beauty in the UK — is one of the longest-lived butterflies on Earth and one of the most ecologically remarkable temperate Lepidoptera. Adults emerge from chrysalises in late summer, feed for a few weeks, then enter a 6-9 month overwintering diapause in protected sites: tree-bark crevices, hollow logs, woodpiles, and occasionally building eaves. Throughout winter, on warm sunny days (above ~6°C), adults emerge to fly briefly across snow and ice — making the mourning cloak one of the very few butterflies routinely encountered in winter in temperate North America and Europe. After overwintering, the adults mate in early spring (often before any other butterfly species is on the wing), lay eggs on willow, elm, hackberry, and birch, and die in late spring/early summer — total adult lifespan 10-12 months. The dark wings (velvety chocolate-brown with cream edges and small blue spots) function as solar collectors that absorb sunlight and warm the body, allowing winter flight at temperatures most butterflies cannot tolerate. Adults rarely visit flowers — preferred food sources are tree sap (especially oak sap dripping from beetle wounds), rotting fruit, and animal scat. The species is wholly Holarctic: native across North America, Europe, and northern Asia.