The Mourning Cloak Butterflies (Nymphalis antiopia) are playing games with me again. It is a beautiful, sunny day as I walk through the spring woods. A small shadow appears on the ground projecting a classic pulse - pulse - glide pattern. A Mourning Cloak Butterfly is nearby. It settles on the dry leaves, gently opening and closing its wings.
I step closer to where it landed and it takes off in a flurry. It circles around and lands in almost exactly the same spot. I step closer and we repeat the game. Finally, I am able to get close enough to catch a photo as it sits in the warm sun. I try once more, but this time I get too close. It flies off having had enough of this fun.
Adult Mourning Cloak Butterflies can over-winter through hibernation, awakening with the warmth of spring and thus getting an early start on mating. The springtime adults feed on tree sap, decaying material and the nectar of spring wildflowers.
There is a tale about the color pattern on the Mourning Cloak's wings. The dark, maroon-brown central portion of the wings resembles a "mourning cloak". Not wishing to be completely moribund, the butterfly has revealed a bit of its pale-tan and brilliantly blue-spotted undergarments that appear at the edge of its wings.
