Mourning Cloak
AREA — “Antifreeze” chemicals in their blood allow mourning cloak butterflies to hibernate through our New England winters. They’ll tuck themselves into sheltered places, such as under tree bark and in a wood pile or rock crevice. They’ve been seen as early as a warm day in March, and they’re said to come out as early as February, so they are among the first butterflies to be seen – what a welcome sight!
They can seen basking in a sunny opening in the forest, which could even mean your driveway! Due to their overwintering strategy, mourning cloaks can have a lifespan of over 10 months, one of our longest-lived butterflies.
One version of the origin of their name is the similarity of their wing color and texture to a cloak historically worn by women in mourning. It’s such a luxurious, velvety, reddish-brown, accented by a beautiful, blue and yellow border – striking! Other overwintering butterflies in New England to watch for include eastern commas, question marks, and compton tortoiseshells.
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