Mourning Cloak (redirected from mourning cloaks)

Mourning Cloak 

(Nymphalis antiopa), a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. The wingspan is 7–9 cm. The coloring of the wings is cherry brown, black below, with a yellow-white margin and a submarginal row of dark blue spots; at the apex of each wing are two large yellowish-white spots. The mourning cloak is distributed in the temperate zone of the northern hemisphere. It is found from late July until autumn in deciduous (mainly birch) forests. It deposits its eggs in spring, after wintering. The caterpillars are black with tiny yellow dots and a row of red spots on the back. They are covered with branching thornlike outgrowths. The caterpillars feed on leaves of birch and willow and sometimes of other trees.