I spotted a beautiful Mourning Cloak butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa) this past weekend at Huntley Meadows Park and suspect that it recently emerged. I always thought of Mourning Cloaks, which are apparently known as Camberwell Beauties in Great Britain, only as an early spring butterfly, because I knew that they overwinter with us as adults.
After doing a little research, I learned that the hardy winter survivors mate in the early spring and then die. The eggs turn into caterpillars that pupate and the new butterflies emerge in June or July. After briefly feeding, the butterflies will enter into a state of dormancy (called aestivation) for the summer. I must confess that I was not familiar with the word “aestivation” when I first ran across it and had to look it up. As far as I can tell, it’s the summer equivalent of hibernation. Last year I remember learning the word “brumation,” which is a hibernation-like state that helps turtles survive in the mud during the winter. Who knew there were so many hibernation-type states?
In the fall, the Mourning Cloak butterflies will go on a real feeding frenzy to store up energy for the long winter. It’s amazing to realize that these butterflies have a life span of 10 months, which is an eternity in the insect world.
Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
I’ve never heard the word aestivation either and didn’t know these butterflies even lived through the summer. It’s one that I haven’t seen but It sounds like I’d better keep my eyes open this fall.
Spectacular!
Thank you for the education as well as for sharing your lovely photograph.
I love to share cool info that I uncover when I’m trying to figure out what in the world I have photographed. It’s amazing how much I have learned, especially given that I am a liberal arts kind of guy who never had much of an interest in science when I was in school.
Nice shot, Mike. Always a treat to see one that fresh so you can capture those subtle colors like that.
Thanks, Joe. I was so shocked to see it, I could not initially identify it (I had searched for them in the spring the last couple of years and came up empty-handed).
Beautiful butterfly, The gold trim on the wings looks fantastic.
Thanks, Ben. The colors were so fresh and vibrant they really grabbed my attention and I too find that trim to be amazing.
Beautiful coloring. Such a rich and unique pattern! It makes me think of a costume in a Shakespearean play – really could be the cloak of a wealthy woman in mourning.
Great analogy. The colors are rich, but not at all gaudy. There is a subdued quality that I find really attractive.
You have such a great eye for finding all these beauties.