Mourning Cloak butterfly 



As I pass through the woods near the 

 apple tree community on a mild winter's 

 day, I sometimes find under the dead bark 

 of old trees a sleeping beauty the mourn- 

 ing cloak butterfly. Instead of going South 

 like the monarch or changing, like the 

 black swallowtail, into a chrysalis the 

 adult mourning cloak hibernates in some 

 protected place during the winter. 



Occasionally, if the day is sunny and the 

 air gentle, a mourning cloak will come out 

 of hibernation and may be seen fluttering 

 among the leafless trees for a short while. 

 But as soon as the temperature drops, back 

 into hibernation he goes. He will, however, 

 be one of the first butterflies to be seen in 

 the spring, flying leisurely from tree to 

 tree, or resting on a branch. His wings in 

 the spring sun will gleam a rich chocolate- 

 brown shade; they will be edged with a lacy 

 border of creamy yellow, ornamented inside 

 with a row of purple dots. 



The mourning cloak likes to sip the sweet 

 sap that oozes from a cut or break in the 

 bark of a tree. Frequently so many of these 

 lovely creatures gather around my old apple 

 tree when its sap is flowing that I feel like 

 a guest at a butterfly sugaring party. 



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