Butterfly mourning - a tireless traveler and lover of intoxicated drinks

A large day butterfly from the nymphalidae family is found throughout the Palearctic. Its Russian name "mourning" is associated with the dark coloring of the wings. In America, it is known as the "mourning mantle." The butterfly appears in the clearing, in meadows and gardens with the first warm months of spring. She hibernates in reliable shelters, and when the sun warms, she flies out to feed and procreate. The mourning butterfly is a real long-liver, an imago dies at the age of 11-12 months.

View description

The mourning day butterfly belongs to the nymphalids family. The Latin name for the species is Nymphalisantiopa. It is associated with the heroine of Greek mythology - the Queen of the Amazons of the Amazons, Antiope. The wingspan of the insect is 70-90 mm. The description of the mourning butterfly is not as gloomy as its name. Background of wings is dark brown or cherry. A wide yellow stripe runs along the winding edge of the front and rear pair of wings. Along it are blue or blue strokes. The outer side of the front wings has two bright spots.

Nymphalids are characterized by the protective color of the back of the wings. The photo shows that the butterfly of the mourning butterfly is brown with black strokes and a light border. This color masks the insect against the background of trunks and branches.

The caterpillar is black, completely covered with small white dots. There are branched spikes on each body segment. Red spots are clearly visible along the back.

Aberrations (discoloration)

Moth butterflies have an interesting feature - their color is influenced by the temperature at which the pupa developed. Shock from cold or heat causes hormonal changes in the body of the insect. Under the influence of low temperatures, the main brown background becomes darker, and blue spots along the edge of the wings can completely disappear.

Information. After wintering, the yellow border on the wings becomes lighter, but this is not an aberration, the color simply fades.

Distribution area

The species has adapted to life in a temperate climate. Insects avoid the tropical zones and climb up to 68 ° north latitude. From can be found in England, Germany and Norway, migratory individuals are seen on the shores of the seas of the Arctic Ocean. Mourning plants are common throughout Europe, Asia, northern Africa, Japan and North America.

Butterflies choose forest edges, riverbanks and streams, meadows, parks and gardens for habitation. They can climb mountains up to 2000 m above sea level.

Power Features

Mourning plants rarely feed on nectar of flowers. The basis of their diet is overripe fruit. Butterflies are attracted by the smell of fermentation. They fly en masse to fermented wood sap, acting on damaged trunks. Mourners are often noticed drinking birch sap. Eating fermented juice, insects lose their vigilance, they can be seen on flowers or field weeds. One of the features of the species is the replacement of the deficiency of microelements from animal excrement and rotting residues. Butterflies need a lot of moisture, so they do not survive away from water.

Caterpillars feed on fodder plants. Their diet is quite wide: hawthorn, poplar, maple, alder, dog rose, linden, nettle and willow.

Breeding

With the beginning of the mating season, males expect females to mate in sunny glades or on the banks of water bodies. They zealously guard the territory from rivals. A fertilized female lays about 100 eggs on the stem or branch of a feed plant. Masonry ring surrounds a thin twig of birch, willow or aspen. In June, caterpillars of the mourning butterfly appear. When leaving the egg, their length is about 2 mm. They stick together in large groups. By age 5, black spiky larvae reach 54 mm. Before pupation they creep.
The mourning doll is free, it is attached upside down to the branch. Its length is 25-32 mm. This stage lasts 10-12 days. For a year, one generation of mourning trees is replaced.

Information. Butterflies have many enemies at all stages of life. Mourning eggs are eaten by spiders, beetles and ants. Birds, reptiles, rodents prey on adults.

Life cycle

After wintering, adults appear in April (sometimes March) and fly until mid-May. Insects with complete transformation go through 4 successive phases in life:

• egg;
• larva;
• pupa;
• imago.

By the end of May, the mourners have time to mate and lay eggs, from which after 3 weeks larvae appear. Small caterpillars form colonies on the leaves, wrapping them in a silk web. The development of larvae takes place in 5 stages or ages. Their change is characterized by molting - dropping and eating the old skin. With each age, the caterpillar becomes larger. In early July, the larvae pupate.

After 2 weeks, young individuals of a new generation appear from the pupae. Barely stronger, after 3-5 days they fall into diapause. This state of dormancy and a slowdown in life processes continues until the end of August. Waking up butterflies begin to eat actively in order to stock up enough energy for a long winter sleep. Favorite food of insects is rotted fruit, which after ripening in large quantities falls on the ground. The diet includes plums, pears, peaches, apples. The butterfly falls into a state of suspended animation with the onset of autumn. The funeral home is hiding under the bark of trees, forest litter, looking for shelter in the crevices of farm buildings, in the attics. What does a mourning butterfly look like in winter? It folds its wings behind its back and turns into a thin brown leaf. During wintering, some of the insects are eaten by natural enemies - birds and rodents. The life cycle of a mourning butterfly is 1 year.

How to determine the cardinal points from a butterfly mourning

Not everyone can navigate the forest well. The best option is to take a compass with you, but if it was not at hand, you will have to use the means at hand. In addition to the well-known moss on trees, natural compasses will come to the rescue. Butterflies, when they sit down to rest, turn their backs to the sun with their wings folded. They choose well-lit places - edges, clearings, paths.

It is not difficult to determine the cardinal points from a butterfly mourning, remember:

• in the morning the wings are directed east;
• at noon - point south;
• in the evening - west.

Quantity and protective measures

The number of butterflies is relatively stable. But there is a tendency to reduce it. The limiting factors characteristic of most insects are the destruction of natural habitats. In their history, mourners experienced several periods of mass reduction and increase in numbers. The population suffered significantly after World War II. Scientists have not found the exact cause of the death of the butterflies.

Attention. Mourning is listed in the Red Book of the Smolensk region as a rare species with a small number (category III).

In 1969, there was a surge in the number of butterflies in the Moscow region, in the 90s they were found in 24 natural and artificial green areas of the city. In 2008 in the Chelyabinsk region an unprecedented amount of mourning was noted. No special measures are taken to protect butterflies. The number of species remains at a low but stable level.