Mourning cloak Coloring Pages

Look for the Yellow Border! This Butterfly Lives Through Winter!

The Mourning cloak is a type of brush-footed butterfly with a bright yellow band along the edges of its wings. This yellow border makes it stand out and look like it has a neat outline. Also, it has a rare habit for butterflies in Japan: it spends the winter as an adult.

The English scientific name of the Mourning cloak is Nymphalis antiopa. It was named after Antiope, an Amazon queen from Greek mythology. The Japanese name comes from its yellow wing border and the fact that it is a brush-footed butterfly.

Where Does It Live?

The Mourning cloak lives in wide areas of the Northern Hemisphere. You can find it in Japan, Europe, North America, and warm parts of Asia.

• Where it lives in Japan: It mostly lives in Hokkaido and high mountains on the main island, like the Tohoku and Chubu regions. It likes cool places better than warm flat lands.
  • You can often find it in highland forests and places with birch or willow trees.

What Do Its Patterns Look Like?

The Mourning cloak has a very simple and lovely wing pattern.

• Main wing color: The whole wing is a dark reddish-brown or dark purple color.
• Yellow border: A thick, bright yellow or cream-colored band runs along the edge of the wings. Inside this yellow band, you can also see a line of blue spots.
• Underside of the wings: The bottom side looks like dark brown or gray tree bark with fine patterns. This helps it hide against tree trunks when it closes its wings to rest.
• Size: When it spreads its wings, it is about 7 to 8 centimeters wide. That is quite large for a brush-footed butterfly.

What Does It Eat?

The Mourning cloak eats different things as it grows.

• Caterpillar: They live in groups and mostly eat leaves from willow, birch, and elm trees.
• Adult: Instead of flower nectar, it gets nutrients mostly by drinking tree sap and rotting fruit. In early spring, you can also see it drinking melted snow water from the ground.

How Long Does It Live?

New Mourning cloak butterflies are born once a year.

• After becoming an adult in the summer, it saves up energy in the autumn and spends the winter as an adult.
• The next spring, as soon as the snow melts, it flies around, lays eggs, and finishes its life. Because of this, you can see adults from winter to spring.

How to Choose Colors: Have Fun with the Contrast of Dark Brown and Yellow!

The key to the Mourning cloak coloring page is to color the dark base color and the bright edges clearly apart.

• Base color of the wings: Color the whole area carefully with dark brown or dark purple. Using a dark color makes the yellow edges stand out!
• Yellow edges: Color the edge band clearly with bright yellow or lemon yellow. If you add little blue dots inside this yellow band, it will look even more real!
• Pattern on the underside: If you color the underside, use dark brown or gray to make it look like the texture of a tree trunk.

Coloring Tips: Make the Edges Stand Out for a 3D Look!

• Making the edges pop: Outline the border between the yellow band and the dark inside color with a thin line of dark brown or black. It makes the yellow look super bright!
• Creating a 3D look: Use a dark color near the base of the wings (the part close to the body) and a bright color on the yellow edges. This makes the wings look 3D!

Tips for Enjoying Your Coloring Page!

• Express yourself freely!
• You do not have to stick to real colors. You can use any colors you like to make your dream Mourning cloak! An original butterfly with rainbow edges or a bright red body sounds like fun, too!
• Try adding a background!
• Where is the Mourning cloak resting? If you draw the melting snow on the ground, a white birch trunk, or willow leaves, your picture will look even more alive!