Mourning Cloak (Butterflies of Fundy National Park of Canada / Les papillons du parc national du Canada Fundy)

Mourning Cloak

Nymphalis antiopa

Summary ⁶

Nymphalis antiopa, known as the Mourning Cloak in North America and the Camberwell Beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. See also Anglewing butterflies.

General description ⁷

The deep brown upperside rimmed with blue spots and a powder-yellow margin is unmistakable. Spring specimens are flight-worn and are faded to maroon-brown with yellowish-white margins. The Mourning Cloak is remarakbly consistent in appearance across its vast North American range, and there are no recognized subspecies (Layberry et al. 1998, Guppy & Shepard 2001).

Distribution ⁸

This species has a wide distribution throughout the northern hemisphere, occuring from Great Britain across Eurasia and from Alaska south to central Mexico (Opler 1999).

Habitat ⁹

Found in virtually all habitats throuhgout the province, particularly near moist and riparian woods.

Migration ¹⁰

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Flowering plants visited by nymphalis antiopa in illinois ¹¹

Nymphalis antiopa Linnaeus: Nymphalidae, Lepidoptera
(observations are from Robertson and Graenicher; this butterfly is the Mourning Cloak)

Aceraceae: Acer saccharum oozing sap; Asclepiadaceae: Asclepias syriaca plpr sn; Asteraceae: Aster lanceolatus sn (Gr), Eupatoriadelphus purpureus sn (Gr), Euthamia graminifolia sn (Gr); Salicaceae: Salix humilis stam sn; Thymelaeaceae: Dirca palustris sn (Rb)

Insect activities:
sn = sucks nectar

Scientific observers:
(Gr) = S. Graenicher
(Rb) = Charles Robertson

Behaviour ¹²

Adults feed on flower nectar, sap, fruit and mud. Males perch for females (Scott, 1986).

Conservation status ¹³

Not of concern.

Threats ¹⁴

Degree of Threat: D : Unthreatened throughout its range, communities may be threatened in minor portions of the range or degree of variation falls within natural variation

Sources and Credits

(c) Denis Doucet, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Denis Doucet
(c) Stanislav Krejčík, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/34186.jpg
(c) D. Gordon E. Robertson, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Mourning_Cloak.jpg/460px-Mourning_Cloak.jpg
(c) Patrick Coin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3555504413_b531dac723.jpg
(c) Biopix, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://www.biopix.com/PhotosMedium/JCS%20Nymphalis%20antiopa%2032943.jpg
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphalis_antiopa
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884959
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884958
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884960
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28772086
(c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/32697736
(c) Leslie Ries, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/20604865
(c) University of Alberta Museums, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31884956
(c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28772080

More Info

Range Map

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Mourning Cloak

Summary 6

General description 7

Distribution 8

Habitat 9

Migration 10

Flowering plants visited by nymphalis antiopa in illinois 11

Behaviour 12

Conservation status 13

Threats 14