Mourning Cloak

Looking like a piece of dappled sunlight fallen from the sky, this Mourning Cloak was flitting among the trees at the Indiana Dunes.

The year's abundant wildflowers have seemingly produced an abundance of butterflies that are not to be missed.

Hibernating Butterflies

Adult Mourning Cloaks spend the winter hibernating. It's difficult to think of such a delicate looking creature surviving a winter day like this one with minus zero temperatures and over two feet of snow on the ground.

Mourning Cloaks depend on trees, mostly willows, and survive on tree sap. I found this one fluttering around on the forest floor one June day.