I was talking to Aaron on the phone about his new house, the president of China, and the best route to Santa Cruz in a Lotus when a very particular kind of shadow caught my eye as it slid past the office door. I said, "gotta go", because only a butterfly makes a shadow that flutters like that. And there have been precious few butterflies around here so far this spring.This was a mourning cloak, Nymphalis antiopa, that had alit on a perch high in the melaleuca linarifolia tree while waiting for me to get the camera. It's a 2006 hatchling, offspring of the adults that were flying (briefly!) back in January. The wings look really fresh; if it were an overwintered adult, they would be battered. Mourning cloaks live for almost a year. This creature has already weathered some unseasonably cold and wet weather as a caterpillar, so here's hoping for more sunny butterfly days just like today to make its long/short life a bit easier.
The adult butterflies preferred food is tree sap and rotting fruit, but they do also take nectar. This one looks like it is tasting the melaleuca flowers.
3 comments:
Great shots. I have been seeing these guys around too, maybe they'll be a little more plentiful than last year.
I'm curious, though: If there have already been caterpillars early this year, what is their host plant? I thought they ate the leaves of Chinese Elm, which have only just regrown their new leaves this spring. It would be great to know I could find the caterpillars on other plants/trees.
I love your photos! What kind of camera do you use? You sure take some fantastic pictures!
I haven't seen the caterpillars but I assume they are feedng on the chinese elm. Remember that hot spell we had around here back in January? About that time I saw one mourning cloak butterfly. My chinese elm still had last year's leaves and I suppose could have supported caterpillars. Within a couple weeks, the weather had turned cold again, but the new crop of leaves was already coming out. I guess my elm is a bit earlier than most. I understand mourning cloak 'pillars eat leaves of willow, aspen, birch and a few other trees.
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