Mourning Cloak eggs hatch

text & photos by Bea Laporte of Ontario, Canada

A Mourning Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa) with faded and tattered wings, lays eggs on a willow. See the eggs under her abdomen? (Mourning Cloaks are Brush-Footed Butterflies of the family Nymphalidae)

Mourning Cloak laying eggs

What beautiful golden eggs!

Mourning Cloak eggs

A few days later the eggs begin to darken.

Mourning Cloak eggs

The day before they hatch.

Mourning Cloak eggs

10 days after they were laid, the first one hatched and the others soon followed.

Mourning Cloak caterpillar emerging from egg

We are here!

Mourning Cloak caterpillars

Then we set them free. Unfortunately we couldn’t find a willow tree so we set them loose at the base of a White Birch and hoped that they could find their way.

 Mourning Cloak caterpillars

We wish you well little Mourning Cloak caterpillars! May you live a full life!

Mourning Cloak caterpillars

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Laport, Bea. Last updated . Page title: . Retrieved from The Backyard Nature Website at .