The Mourning Cloak Butterfly Makes Unique Winter Appearances

The mourning cloak, also known by its scientific name Nymphalis antiopa, belongs to the brush-footed butterflies family. Its wingspan stretches up to 4 in (10 cm), making it one of the larger species in its range.

The upper side of its wings is dark red, bordered by a pale yellow band and lined with bright blue spots. The pale yellow band along the wing edges can fade to almost white as the butterfly ages. This cloak-like coloration is where the butterfly gets its name.

The underside is a mottled dark brown, helping it camouflage against tree bark and twigs. This cryptic appearance helps it evade predators such as birds, ants, and beetles.

This butterfly can be found in North America and northern South America, as well as across Europe and Asia. In the United Kingdom, it goes by the name Camberwell beauty. It prefers open habitats including hardwood forests, parks, and areas with host trees like willow, elm, and cottonwood.

Mourning cloaks frequently use deciduous trees as host plants. Females lay clusters of eggs around the twigs of these trees in spring.

The eggs hatch into caterpillars (larvae) covered in black spines and white speckles. These larvae live communally in webs and feed on host plant leaves until they form chrysalises and metamorphose.

Unlike most butterflies, mourning cloaks don’t rely on flowers. Their main food source includes tree sap, rotting fruit, and even decaying organic matter. This allows them to be active in cooler months when nectar isn’t available.

You might see them feeding on fermented fruit in late summer and fall or sipping sap from tree wounds in early spring. Their preference for unusual foods allows them to thrive in places and seasons where other butterflies can’t survive.

Adult mourning cloaks are one of the few butterflies that hibernate through winter. Instead of migrating, they tuck into tree cavities, under loose bark, or sheltered places like buildings. Their cold-weather survival strategy gives them a head start in spring.

They often emerge on the first warm days of late winter or early spring—sometimes even during winter on unseasonably warm days. Their dark coloration helps them absorb sunlight and warm up quickly, making them some of the first butterflies to fly each year.

Mourning cloaks go through a complete metamorphosis: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Eggs are laid in rings and hatch in 10 to 14 days. The caterpillars feed for several weeks before forming chrysalises.

The larvae live in communal webs and feed together on host plants. After pupation, adult butterflies emerge and may live for up to 10 months—an unusually long lifespan among butterflies.

They mate in spring shortly after emerging from hibernation. Males are territorial and can often be seen patrolling sunny patches, waiting for females. Adults fly throughout summer and early fall before entering hibernation again.

The mourning cloak is one of the longest lived butterflies in North America. Its ability to hibernate, eat sap and fruit, and fly on warm winter days sets it apart from other species.

Its appearance, behavior, and lifecycle make it a truly unique butterfly. From their dark red wings edged in yellow to their brush-footed legs, mourning cloaks are built to endure. Their ability to exploit cold seasons gives them access to resources and habitats unavailable to most other butterflies.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.