Mourning Cloak
Nymphalis antiopa
Summary 7
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.
Morphology 8
The Mourning Cloak has a wing span of 2.875 to 3.375 in. Its dark maroon wings are characterized by a ragged creamy yellow margin that is lined on the interior by bright blue iridescent spots. When viewed closely, the wings appear to be iridescent as they reflect purple highlights. A rare variation in the appearance of the dorsal side of the wings, in which the margin is wider than normal and the blue spots may be absent, sometimes occurs. This aberration is a result of the pupa's being exposed to unusually cold temperatures. The ventral surface of the Mourning Cloak is a striated pattern of gray-black outlined by a yellow wing margin similar to that found on its dorsal surface (Holland, 1910; Pyle, 1981; Tveten and Tveten, 1996).
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Sources and Credits
- (c) Aleta Rodriguez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/58132408@N00/141509000
- (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) Jason Sturner, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5053/5545623040_d473d8dee8.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) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31410710
More Info
- iNat taxon page
- Animal Diversity Web
- Biodiversity Heritage Library
- BOLD Systems BIN search
- BugGuide
- Butterflies and Moths of North America
- CalPhotos
- CUIC Insect Images
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
- HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
- Lepiforum
- Maryland Biodiversity Project
- Maryland Moths
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- Moth Photographers Group
- Moths of North Carolina
- NatureServe Explorer 2.0
- NBN Atlas
- Pacific Northwest Moths
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