Mourning cloak

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More names for this insect

Anishinaabemowin: Memengwaa (butterfly)

Dakota: Kimamana (butterfly)

The Dakota and Anishinaabe were among the earliest people to name Minnesota’s plants and animals, as well as to understand them in relation to Minnesota’s climate and seasons. Those original names are still in use, and several are included on the Season Watch website.

Latin (or scientific name): Nymphalis antiopa

The scientific community has a convention of assigning agreed-upon Latin names to every kind of organism. Using scientific names helps people communicate confidently about the same organism and organize lifeforms based on how closely related they are.

Page contents

About the mourning cloak

Visual guide to phenology

Graphs and historical data

More resources

A mourning cloak butterfly with its wings open is perched on the trunk of a tree. The upper side of its wings are a warm brown with pale yellow edges and small blue spots.
Mourning cloak butterfly feeding on tree sap.
April 25, 2020, Hamilton County, Ontario, Canada
Photo by © Paul Tavares, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC)
iNaturalist observation

About the mourning cloak

  • The mourning cloak is a large butterfly that is dark red or brown in color with bright blue spots near the yellow margins of its wings.
  • Adult butterflies become active in early spring. They then mate for the first time of the season and lay clusters of up to 200 eggs.
  • By summer, the first group of caterpillars have hatched, grown, and metamorphosed into adult butterflies.
  • These adults tend to be mostly solitary and subsist on mud, sap, and rotted fruit.
  • In winter, adult butterflies hibernate in trees.
  • Fun fact: Mourning cloaks live up to a year long, making them some of the longest living butterflies.

Visual guide to phenology

Watch for mourning cloaks' presence (or absence) and abundance at different times of year.

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Note to observers

This page explains general clues to watch and listen for when observing mourning cloak phenology. However, this page does not explain how to identify this butterfly or collect data in a standardized way.

  • Consult a field guide for help with identification.
  • For guidance on collecting data, see Nature’s Notebook.
Mourning cloak butterfly with wings open atop dead leaves, in the sunshine. The upper side of its wings are mostly brown with pale yellow edging and tiny blue spots.
Two mourning cloak butterflies mating, their bodies are positioned end-to-end and they are perched on the ground.
A single mourning cloak is perched upside down on a thin twig. It is depositing tiny eggs that are orange-yellow in color. The eggs cover part of the twig's surface.
A mourning cloak feeding at milkweed flowers. The underside of the butterfly's wings are mostly dark brown with a marbled texture and pale yellow edges.
A mourning cloak larva (caterpillar) crawls on a twig. It has a shiny black eye, a body covered in spikes and hairs, with about eight bright red spots..
Mourning cloak pupa suspends from its attachment. It is pale brown, pointed at both ends, and has several triangular points along its surface.
A single mourning cloak is perched upside down on a stem. It is depositing tiny eggs that are orange-yellow in color. The eggs cover part of the stem's surface.
Mourning cloak larva (caterpillar) on a green leaf. Its body has black spikes and red spots.
Mourning cloak butterfly was found sheltering on the underside of a rock lifted by the observer. Adults find protected places to spend winter months in a dormant state.

Graphs and historical data

Note: The Orientation Center provides a map, as well as information on reading graphs; interpreting summary statistics, who collected the data and how; and how to download datasets for independent exploration.


Hubbard County

First seen

  • Earliest: March 5 (occurred in 2000)
  • Average: April 6
  • Latest: April 28 and 29 (occurred in 1996 and 2013)
Scatterplot showing mourning cloak phenology observations in Hubbard County, Minnesota

Download this dataset (.csv file)

Last seen

  • Earliest: August 23 (occurred in 1998)
  • Average: October 14
  • Latest: November 7 (occurred in 2002)
Scatterplot showing mourning cloak phenology observations in Hubbard County, Minnesota

Download this dataset (.csv file)

More resources

Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) in Nature's Notebook

Mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) profile by University of Minnesota - Department of Entomology

 

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Keep exploring Season Watch

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Times of year

Co-author: Lynsey Nass, Minnesota Master Naturalist