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. 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
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Timeline 2012–2017
Albany, California This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations on and experiences with various insects in Albany California and surrounding areas, from 2012-2017. Since we did not publish this site until 2016, posts before that were constructed retroactively. Starting in August 2017, we moved to Ithaca, New York; posts from there on can be viewed at Timeline 2017-present: Ithaca, New York. Archives (1,011)
August 2017 (49) July 2017 (121) June 2017 (79) May 2017 (77) April 2017 (91) March 2017 (35) February 2017 (12) January 2017 (10) December 2016 (12) November 2016 (26) October 2016 (49) September 2016 (84) August 2016 (94) July 2016 (99) June 2016 (53) May 2016 (21) April 2016 (4) January 2016 (1) August 2015 (3) July 2015 (3) June 2015 (2) June 2014 (3) May 2014 (1) April 2014 (3) March 2014 (3) December 2013 (2) November 2013 (2) October 2013 (5) September 2013 (11) August 2013 (15) July 2013 (9) June 2013 (5) May 2013 (4) April 2013 (3) March 2013 (2) February 2013 (3) January 2013 (2) December 2012 (2) November 2012 (1) October 2012 (2) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (5) July 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List (Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Adelpha californica Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Antheraea mylitta Antheraea polyphemus Anthocharis sara Argema mimosae Attacus atlas Battus philenor hirsuta Bombyx mori Caligo atreus Callosamia promethea Coenonympha tullia california Citheronia regalis Cricula trifenestrata Danaus plexippus Eacles imperialis Erynnis tristis Estigmene acrea Eumorpha achemon Eupackardia calleta Furcula cinereoides Heliconius erato Heliconius hecale Heliconius sapho Heliconius sara Hyalophora cecropia Hyalophora columbia Hyalophora euryalus Hylephila phyleus Hyles lineata Junonia coenia Langia zenzeroides formosana Lophocampa maculata Manduca sexta Morpho peleides Nymphalis antiopa Orgyia vetusta Orthosia hibisci quenquefasciata Pachysphinx modesta Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio machaon oregonius Papilio multicaudata Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rumiko Papilio rutulus Papilio zelicaon Phyciodes mylitta Phyciodes pulchella Pieris rapae Plejebus acmon Poanes melane Polites sabuleti Polygonia satyrus Pyrgus communis Rothschildia jacobaeae Samia cynthia advena Samia ricini Smerinthus cerisyi Smerinthus ophthalmica Strymon melinus Trichoplusia ni Uresephita reversalis Vanessa annabella Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Unidentified Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio glaucus × Papilio rutulus Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Melanoplus devastator Phaneroptera nana Pristoceuthophilus pacificus Scudderia mexicana Trimerotropis pallidipennis Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Phyllium giganteum Mantodea Mantis religiosa Phyllocrania paradoxa Hymenoptera Apis mellifera Bombus vosnesenskii Brachymeria ovata Linepithema humile Pediobius sp. Polistes dominula Xylocopa varipuncta Unidentified Diptera Lucilia sericata Unidentified Hemiptera Brochymena sp. Leptoglossus sp. Nezara viridula Odonata Argia vivida Libellula croceipennis Coleoptera Coccinella septempunctata Cycloneda polita Diabrotica undecimpunctata Hippodamia convergens Araneae (Class: Arachnida) Araneus diadematus Phidippus johnsoni |