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Jeanne Dammarell | all galleries >> Galleries >> Butterflies 2013 > Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa
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01-APR-2013 Jeanne Dammarell

Mourning Cloak Nymphalis antiopa

Pend Oreille County, Washington

Every year I watch this species deliberately collect tiny particles of sand into a ball around the proboscis. After a gentle tap, the ball collapses and the clean proboscis is evident in the following photograph. Soon, the Cloak will repeat the process. Other species mine minerals from the mud, but this is the only one that I've found making these balls. If anyone knows what is going on, please share it below.


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