mourning cloak

A nymphalid butterfly (Nymphalis antiopa) of Eurasia and North America, having purplish-brown wings with a broad yellow border.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mourning cloak

(Animals) the US name for Camberwell beauty

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mourn′ing cloak`

an anglewing butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, widely distributed in Europe and North America, having velvety, dark brown wings with blue spots and pale yellow edges.

[1600–10]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

mourning cloak - of temperate regions; having dark purple wings with yellow borders

Camberwell beauty, mourning cloak butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa

brush-footed butterfly, four-footed butterfly, nymphalid, nymphalid butterfly - medium to large butterflies found worldwide typically having brightly colored wings and much-reduced nonfunctional forelegs carried folded on the breast

genus Nymphalis, Nymphalis - type genus of the Nymphalidae: mourning cloak butterflies

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References in periodicals archive

Knowing that delicate mourning cloak butterflies spent the entire winter under the bark of the tree will inspire joy when you see their emergence this month.

Put your devices down and listen to March's wonderful chorus Blaine: Get out and listen to the music of March

Attracts black swallowtail, giant swallowtail, Monarch, painted lady, pipevine swallowtail, queen, question mark, red admiral, red-spotted purple, zebra longwing, zebra swallowtail, spicebush swallowtail, eastern tiger swallowtail, variegated fritillary, viceroy, eastern comma, gulf fritillary, mourning cloak, anise swallowtail and other species of butterflies.

Attracting butterflies

The mourning cloak butterflies that we hoped to see on rare warm days fluttering about and sipping sap from broken cherries, maples, and birches stayed chilled and immobile under their bark blankets.

A year to remember, or forget, outdoors

MOURNING CLOAK BUTTERFLIES are sometimes spotted on the first warm days of spring.

Insects

One image is of the mourning cloak caterpillar, Nymphalis antiopa.

Strickman, D., Frances, S. P., and Debboun, M. 2009. Prevention of Bug Bites, Stings, and Disease

Apart from this year's weather, several species of butterflies, including the large marble, sooty wing, Lorquin's admiral, and the mourning cloak suffered major declines in 1999 and have not yet recovered.

Where have all the butterflies gone?