Mystery butterflies at Lake Wabukayne

[Bird Brain]

Hi everyone.  Today from 11am - 12:30pm, my mom & I were walking at Lake Wabukayne (NE corner of Glen Erin Dr./Windwood Dr., behind condo and school).  At 12 noon, we sighted 2 butterflies and we both didn't recognize them.

Monarch-size, solid black with pale yellow at outer edge of wings, no other colour anywhere else.  They weren't Black Swallowtails, reminded me a bit of Mourning Cloak but larger and darker.

Any ideas?  I looked up Ontario butterflies and moths on Google Images and nothing is matching.

[Reuven_M]

I don't think there's anything at all like that other than the various similar dark swallowtails and mourning cloak.

[Bird Brain]

Hi Reuven.  These two really threw us off - have never sighting anything like them before!  Days like today, wish I had a camera!   :shock:

[Bluffs Birder]

Hi Jo-Anne,

Just a thought...

Possibly 'fresh' Mourning Cloaks.

Being darker (or even more colourful) would usually indicate a recently emerged 'fresh' butterfly.  As butterflies age, a good percentage of the tiny little scales that cover the wings tend to fall off causing them to appear faded.

When it comes to butterfly size, they can vary quite a bit.  Many of the Red Admirals, Question Marks and American Ladys that have arrived recently have been fairly small.

Walter

[Bird Brain]

 Thanks Walter, this is interesting to know.  Mourning Cloak butterflies at Maplewood Park are a beautiful chocolate brown colour and these are the ones I'm used to sighting.  The ones yesterday at Lake Wabukayne were black as tar!  Hopefully will see them again soon and there will be a photographer around!