Nymphalis antiopa
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
Nymphalis antiopa, known as the mourning cloak in North America and the Camberwell beauty in Britain, is a large butterfly native to Eurasia and North America. The immature form of this species is sometimes known as the spiny elm caterpillar. Other older names for this species include grand surprise and white petticoat. A powerful flier, this species is sometimes found in areas far from its usual range during migration.
These butterflies have a lifespan of 11 to 12 months, one of the longest lifespans for any butterfly. It is the state insect of the U.S. state of Montana, adopted in 2001. The specific epithet antiopa is thought to be derived from Antiope, a common name in Greek mythology.
In several European countries with Germanic languages, other than Britain, the name for this butterfly literally translates to "mourning cloak", such as German "Trauermantel", Dutch "rouwmantel", Swedish "sorgmantel" and Norwegian "sørgekåpe". Finnish "suruvaippa" is also a calque of the Germanic names. This suggests it is a name which came with Scandinavian or German rather than with British settlers, for whom this species would be considerably... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toluca | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 2 | Tijuana | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Diego | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 7 | Toronto | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Calgary | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 9 | Puebla | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Mourning Cloak sighting in Anchorage on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 22nd most-seen of the 59 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August and September
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Mourning Cloak in Anchorage on a given day, against under 5% in October to April, the lowest months. Those are among Anchorage's wettest months, with about 110 mm of rain a month against 40 mm in April.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Mourning Cloak sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
15th of 40
Of the 40 cities where we can rate Mourning Cloak sightings, Anchorage ranks 15th at about 10%. The best odds are in Toluca (México, about 40%), Tijuana (México, about 30%) and Edmonton (Canada, about 30%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Mourning Cloak that you can see in Anchorage (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Milbert's Tortoiseshell (about 20%), Red-Spotted Admiral (about 10%) and Green Comma (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Mourning Cloak is recorded against all the insects logged in Anchorage (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
