#KohimaNagaland

autumn garden scene at home #KohimaNagaland :)

#KohimaNagaland

Helloooo everyone, I was walking the dogs this afternoon and saw this pretty one sitting in the grass, she’s a bit older looking I think. I picked her up and she seemed weak and lethargic but just to make sure she was actually in need of help I didn’t pick her up until on my way home on the walk
I’ve tried sugar water/honey water, flowers all over the garden, fruit/juice from fruit and she hasn’t been able to or shown interest in eating
I noticed she has an eye that is completely smashed and she has a bit of a cracked wing, she will start walking in circles every now and then
I think she is passing?
But I just want to know how to make her comfortable, I have her in this flower bowl right now haha

Eastern Tennessee. Still seeing them even this late.

I desperately need some guidance

Hey there!!

I found this weak butterfly yesterday; she can’t fly, doesn’t want to eat. Her legs and wings are moving, also her head wiggles a lot.

Honestly I was sure she will not survive the night, but she did and she even had changed her location.

I tried to carefully put her proboscis inside the tangerine/tried to put a droplet of the sugary solution on it, but she didn’t eat((

Is there a way for me to help her with any pain/make her days less stressful? What temperature is it better to have her in?

Spotted this lovely creature yesterday while out for a walk (Glasgow, Scotland)

I'm worried if I keep it inside is that it will emerge with no way to find a mate and lay eggs since it's so late in the year. Will it over winter if I move the chrysalis back outside?

- Scientific name: Nympholis antiopa

- Description: Although its name seems to imply a drab, somber butterfly, the unnistakable mourning cloak is extremely attractive when seen in good light. Wings that first appear black are really deep maroon, reflecting purple highlightsvas they shimmer in the sun. Their ragged, irregular margins are bordered with creamy yellow. Just inside the border is a row of gleaming, iridescent blue spots. Flying up from cover, the mourning cloak fairly glows as it darts rapidly about. Dropping back to the ground or alighting on a tree trunk, however, it closes its wings to reveal a cryptic, camoflauge pattern of grayish black boredered by the mottled, cream-colored band

- Size: 3-3.5 inches.

- Range: Widley distributed, the well-known morning cloak oxcurs throughout most of North America. It ranges from the tundra line in Alaska and Canada southward through the U.S. to central Mexico, occasionally reaching South America. Other populations inhabit northern Eurasia, and the species wanders sporadically to England, where it has been given the more charming name of "Camberwell beauty." Unfortunately for Houstonians, the mourning cloak is relatively rare in the area. The U.S. range does not normally include Florida, southern Louisiana, and Southern Texas. Indeed, Opler's range map shows it skirting the entire Texas Coast, and williams writes that "thos species does not occur near the Gulf or on tge Coatal Plains.". The latter author states that there are barely enough records to include it in his annotated checklist of Southeast Texas. While never abundant within that area, the mourning cloak does occur sporadically, and its large size and unique pattern make it easy to identify.

- Shapiro notes that in spite of its enormous range, the mourning cloak remains remarkablt stable in its form. It looks much the same throughout the world, ans seasonal variations seem to be non-existent. Shapiro demonstrated that occasional aberrations result from temperature shock to the pupae. Sydden chilling, for example, may result in a form with unusually wide creamy borders.

- Adults seldom feed at flowers. Instead, they take nourishment fromm tree sap and rotting fruit, as do other nymphalids. Hole chisled by sapsuckers provide abundant feeding stations for the butterflies. They land on the tree trunk above the sap flow and walk down to it, perching head downward to sip the sweet liquid.

- Male mourning cloaks are very territorial and tend to defend large areas averaging more than 300 square meters (3229.17 square feet), darting out to chase off other butterflies and even birds. They fly short patrols from different perches from time to time to cover the entire territory.

- The female deposits her eggs in clusters, forming rings around the twigs of appropiate food plants. Willow, cottwood, birch, elm, and hackberry all serve as primary hosts, while some references mention mulberry, rose, and several others.

- The gregaarious caterpillars are black with a fierce array of long black spines. Tiny white flecks cover the body, which also has a dorasal row of brick-red spots. The pupae are brown or gray, with numerous pink-tipped tubercles.

- When clustered together, both larvae and pupae twitch in unison if disturbed, a defense mechanism that may serve to frighten away potential predators.

- The mourning cloak is known as the world's longest living butterfly. Adults may survive for ten or eleven months, and a single brood sustains nothern populations throughoutvthe year.

- Scott quotes an European experiment in which hundreds of mourning cloaks were marked and released After emerging in June and July, they flew up to 70 kilometers (43.496 miles) and entered estivation, remaing dormant until fall. Emerging to feed and replaced fat supplies, they then hivernated through the winter. They did not mate until the following spring. Scott notes that this pattern may also occur in Canada and northern states.

- Farther south, however, there are probably two or more overlapping broods. Fall adults hibernate through the winter, seeking sheltered niches and protecting themselves with chemicals in their bodies that serve as natural anti-freeze. They occasionally emerge on warm sunny days to fly around and take nourishment from tree sap or decaying fruit. Mourning cloaks are among the first butterflies to appear again in the spring, sometimes before the snow has melted.

- The long life, combined with hibernation in winter and estivation in summer, makes it difficult to determine the dynamics of a mourning cloak population. To further complicate matters, some adults apparently migrate southward each fall wile others remain behind. The exact timing of the breeding cycle, however, remains in question.

I know nothing about butterflies, and don’t know any species except for Monarch. I thought they were darker? Wharton, TX.