Mourning Cloak 
Nymphalis antiopa

Mourning Cloak is locally uncommon but regular north of the Fall Line and in the northern Coastal Plain and very uncommon to rare in the southern Coastal Plain and on the Coast. It is most commonly seen in the Mountains where the highest counts have been recorded. It has a long life span (11 months) and adults aestivate in summer appearing again in the fall, mostly in October. Adults overwinter, and from mid-February to May, worn adults are seen, particularly on warm days in early spring. The summer brood appears from May to July in the Mountains and Ridge and Valley and from mid-May to June in the Piedmont and Upper Coastal Plain. Along the Florida line, breeding was documented by Dean and Sally Jue in Decatur County on April 23, 2011, and they documented eclosure in Grady County on April 30, 2009. The hostplants are willow, elm, birch and hackberry, including sugarberry (Celtis laevigata), Georgia hackberry (Celtis tenuifolia) and hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). Early Date: February 11 (Upson County); Late Date: December 29 (Cherokee County). Conservation Status: Secure.