mourning cloak

noun

an anglewing butterfly, Nymphalis antiopa, widely distributed in Europe and North America, having velvety, dark-brown wings with purple spots and pale-yellow edges.

Origin of mourning cloak

First recorded in 1600–10

Also called Camberwell beauty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mourning cloak

After hatching from the egg, the Mourning-cloak caterpillars are also subject to the attacks of various parasites.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
One is the familiar Mourning-cloak and the other is the Compton Tortoise—the latter generally much less abundant than the former.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
In their habits they are quite similar to the caterpillars of the Mourning-cloak.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
One fine spring morning I came upon a Mourning-cloak depositing a cluster of eggs upon a willow twig.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed

Some species deposit several in a group, while some, like the Mourning-cloak, may lay two or three dozen in a cluster.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed

British Dictionary definitions for mourning cloak

mourning cloak

noun

the US name for Camberwell beauty

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mourning cloak

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of mourning cloak

Examples from the Web for mourning cloak

British Dictionary definitions for mourning cloak

mourning cloak

noun