Mourning Cloak Butterflies Can Live a Year

“Mourning Cloak” Photo Credit: Nina Koziol

Most summertime butterflies live only a week or two. But the mourning cloak, which can live nearly a year, can survive a cold winter by sheltering in piles of branches or leaves or under loose tree bark.

One mild February day when the sun was warm and a little snow still blanketed the ground, I was checking for the first sign of daffodils when a mourning cloak floated past me. It was looking for tree sap—a source of sugar—before it would go back into hiding for another eight weeks. A butterfly in winter … magical, indeed.

Learn More:

The North American Butterfly Association’s web site offers a wealth of information, including regional butterfly garden guides, publications, tips for enhancing your garden and an opportunity to certify your garden as a butterfly habitat.

Read More:

“The Life Cycles of Butterflies: From Egg to Maturity, a Visual Guide to 23 Common Garden Butterflies” by Judy Burris, Wayne Richards. Storey Books.

“Caterpillars in the Field and Garden: A Field Guide to the Butterfly Caterpillars of North America,” by Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock, Jeffrey Glassberg. Oxford University Press.

See it Happen:

Watch National Geographic’s video on the lifecycle of the monarch butterfly.