Caught a Mourning Cloak

Today as we were catching Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) at Albany Hill with our new butterfly net, we also happened to see two Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa) and managed to catch one.

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Today when we went out to Albany Hill to finally catch some Western Tiger Swallowtails (Papilio rutulus), we were expecting to see some other butterflies too. Perhaps some Common Buckeyes (Junonia coenia), Cabbage Whites (Pieris rapae), or possibly some Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) -- the usual common stuff around here. In the end, we did see some Cabbage Whites and even a Monarch (Danaus plexippus), but we never expected to see some Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa)!

Mourning Cloaks are a species of pretty large brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae) that are widespread in many parts of the world but it can be quite rare in some parts of its range. We had certainly never seen one in the city here in Albany, ever. In fact, today is probably the first time we have ever gotten a close up look at the unique looking butterfly. We had found one flying around the same area that we had been chasing Western Tigers -- the bottom of the mountain near Cerrito Creek. There are tons of willows and other common riparian trees that provide host plants for the Mourning Cloaks so it makes sense that they would be there, but of course it would be quite impossible to find any of their caterpillars or eggs with such a high density of plants. In any case, we decided to catch the butterfly and check it out. 

After we successfully caught the Mourning Cloak after a few odd swings, it turned out to be quite a battered up individual. The thing clearly had some age on it (and/or possibly attacked by a bird), and could have even been a butterfly from last year. After all, Mourning Cloaks have some of the longest lifespans of all butterflies, living almost a year since they hibernate during the winter as adults. This is possible because, like most Nymphalidae, they follow some sort of migratory pattern (other common examples are the Monarch, Painted Lady, and Gulf Fritillary [Augraulis vanillae]). We aren't even sure whether they are truly residents of Albany or just migrant strays!

Much more important and relevant to us than its age though was whether it was a male or female. After discovering that all three of the Western Tigers had been males patrolling the mountainside for newly emerged females, we had a pretty bad feeling about our Mourning Cloak which was probably doing the same thing. Though it is incredibly difficult to sex a lot of brush-footed butterflies since they show no sexual dimorphism and have tiny genitalia, we sadly admit that we do think that it is indeed a male. We did see another one flying overhead when we were about to leave that looked much less beat up and we certianly could have waited and tried to catch it, but we weren't particularly motivated and didn't want to be disappointed by it being yet another male. 

In the end, however, the gender was no big deal. We are just glad that we found a species that we have never really encountered before today and now have the opportunity to take pictures of it and add it to our collection of Lepidopterans of Albany. It was still a very good find indeed.

- Brian