Hobbies And Interests
The Caterpillar
The mourning cloak's caterpillar feeds voraciously on the leaves of plants. The butterfly sucks sap from trees and feeds on rotten fruit. The caterpillar is spiny, black with white spots and red spots down its back. The caterpillar will grow and molt five times before it turns into a chrysalis, and then into the astonishing mourning cloak. As the adult is so wide ranging, so are the caterpillar's eating habits.
Hackberry, Elm, Hickory
The hackberry, elm and hickory trees are important part of the caterpillar's diet. The hackberry is a relative of the elm tree and has gray bark. The hackberry's leaves are thinner and more pointed than the elm's, and it bears fruit that birds like to eat. It grows from 5 to 80 feet tall. The elm tree can grow to 100 feet, with smooth brown gray bark that cracks as it gets older. In England cattle graze off of this tree when grass is scarce. The hickory can also reach 100 feet tall. It has a straight trunk, branches that are erect and irregular and a narrow crown. After about 30 or 40 years the gray bark of the tree begins to peel off in strips. The compound leaves turn a beautiful gold in the fall.
Cottonwood, Poplar, Mulberry
The cottonwood also grows to about 100 feet tall and has fissured bark and a broad crown. Its flowers grow in catkins, which shed great amounts of "cotton" and give the tree its name. It's a fast growing tree and reaches maturity in 20 years. It can hybridize with the black poplar. The name of the poplar tree is derived from arbor populi, the people's tree--this is what the Romans called this tree. It has gray-green bark and like the cottonwood puts forth catkins. It's drought resistant. The mulberry is native to China and Asia minor but was brought to Europe thousands of years ago. The genus name, Morus, is the same one used by the ancient Romans. It's a little shorter than the other trees mentioned, growing to only 60 feet. It's known for its sweet fruit. The mourning cloak caterpillar might like this tree, but it's the silkworm moth who feeds on it exclusively.
Rose
The rose has been cultivated by humans for thousands of years. It's a perennial shrub or vine whose flowers are unmatched for their fragrance and beauty.