Mourning cloak (Nymphalis Antiopa) behavior and ecology

[Kenelm Philip]

	I don't know how relevant the behavior of this species in Interior
Alaska is to its life in Virginia, but here are some comments:

> Do the adults stir on the warmer days?

	Any sunny day when the air temperature is above 50F, and the hiber-
nating sitge are not snow-covered, the butterflies can appear. In Fairbanks
that will occur sometime in April--we cannot meet those conditions in 
March or February.

> If so, what do they do?

	They sit on sun-warmed banksides and bask. They will feed on tree
sap (the cut ends of moose-browsed willow twigs are an excellent source of
sap).

> Where in the woods or garden does one find the overwintering adults?

	The hibernation sites are preferably on south-facing hillsides
(known from the fact that the adults emerge in spring when the entire
landscape is snow-covered _except_ for those hillsides). Hibernation can
occur in woodpiles or rockpiles (known from reports by people who have
found adults in such places while doing yard work in the fall), so pre-
sumably similar sites are chosen in the wild. I would also check unheated
outbuildings--any sheltered spot. In Alaska the hibernation _must_ take
place under the snow, since the butterflies are protected against freezing
down to -40 (F or C) only, and the air temperature can drop below that.
In warmer climates they may well be able to hibernate above the snow,
unless their cryoprotection is less effective in such climates.

							Ken Philip
fnkwp at uaf.edu