EDITOR'S NOTE: Digital images of Mourning Cloak and Tiger Swallowtail
butterflies available; email spalmer@clemson.edu

DATE:   3/15/01
WRITER: Dr. Joe Culin, (864) 656-5041, Clemson Extension entomologist
EDITOR: Giles Singleton, (864) 656-3876

Attracting spring's first butterflies

     CLEMSON -- If you're a butterfly watcher, now is the time to 
start looking for our earliest visitors of the year. Although it 
may seem too cold for butterfly watching, there are several species
that can be seen on  warm days in late winter.
     Unfortunately, many of the early spring flowers usually found 
in home gardens, such as daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus, and 
most flowering fruit trees do not produce enough nectar to be
attractive to these butterflies.
     To help attract these early visitors to your property, you 
can add some flowers that have the nectar they love. Some plants 
that flower early, such as phlox -- or thrift -- and viburnum are 
very attractive to them. 'Snowball' viburnum is especially fragrant 
and very attractive to many of these early spring butterflies.
     You also can place cut up apples and bananas in the garden as 
a food source for them, since many of these butterflies feed on 
rotting fruit.
     One of the earliest arrivals in many areas is the Mourning 
Cloak (Nymphalis antiopa). This striking butterfly is named for 
its dark purplish-black wings bordered with a cream-colored band. 
Long ago, the wings of this butterfly reminded people of the dark
cloaks worn by mourners.  
     Other identifying marks include short tail-like projections on 
the hind wings and a row of iridescent blue spots near the outer 
wing margins. These spots reflect ultraviolet light and help males 
and females recognize each other.
     The Mourning Cloak spends the winter as an adult hibernating 
in protected areas. On warm late-winter days, hibernating adults 
often emerge and can be seen flying through the open woods.
     Although there are no flowers available for these butterflies 
to feed from, they will feed at sap flows on trees and rotting 
fruit. They will also take water, salts, and other minerals from 
wet sand or mud during these winter flights. As the afternoons 
cool, the Mourning Cloaks return to their hibernating sites and 
wait for the next warm day.  
     There are several other early spring butterflies, most of 
which are in the family known as brushfooted butterflies. These 
are typically rust-colored and so blend in with the bare soil and 
dead leaves in garden areas at this time of year.
     However, if you take the time to watch for them, you can 
often see them flying low to the ground, looking for food and 
water. Like the Mourning Cloak, these feed on sap and rotting fruit 
and so are not dependent on flowers for nectar.
     A bit later in spring, about the time the leaf buds begin to 
open on tulip poplar and wild cherry trees, another early spring
butterfly, the Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus glaucus), emerges
from its chrysalis. This species spends the winter as a chrysalis 
and emerges shortly before leaf buds break on its host plants, wild
cherry and tulip poplar.
     Many people recognize this bright yellow and black butterfly 
from its mid to late summer generations, when it is a common visitor 
to flower gardens. However, since many homeowners do not have plants
flowering in early spring, this first generation is often overlooked.
     A bit later, usually between late May and early July, all 
Mourning Cloak adults emerge, locate mates, and lay eggs on a wide
variety of trees including willow, birch, cottonwood, elm, and
hackberry.  The caterpillars feed on the leaves of these trees, and 
in rare cases may be considered pests, if high numbers are present 
on a landscape tree -- Joe Culin, Clemson Extension specialist and
chair of Clemson's Department of Entomology.
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     If you have questions or comments on gardening, write to PSA 
Media Relations, A-101 Poole Agricultural Center, Clemson University,
Clemson, S.C. 29634-0129.
     You might also want to look for other "Buds and Blooms" columns
under 2001 News Releases at: www.clemson.edu/psamedia.
                              END