Mourning Cloak

At a certain point in late summer the birds quiet down and the mourning cloak starts getting my attention.

I work at a subject distance of about a meter and a half with a short telephoto plus extension tube, which is not ideal but it’s what I have.

My images for this species are all made with available light. I don’t use fill flash in the field.

I’ve started keeping track of host plants, which has forced me to learn more plants than I intended.

As always with insects, I welcome a correction from anyone who actually knows what they’re doing.