The mourning cloak belongs to the largest Illinois family of butterflies, the Nymphalidae. Thirty-eight members of this butterfly family are hidden in the word search diagram below. They may be found horizontally, vertically, and diagonally, and for that extra challenge, some of the names are written backwards. As you labor over the puzzle, remember this: Where else could you find all 38 species living together, using only a pencil instead of a net?
As each species is circled, look it up in a butterfly field guide (my favorite is the Field Guide to the Butterflies of Illinois by John Bouseman and James Sternburg). This way, you can become familiar with the butterflies and their habits, haunts, and identification.
Nympalid butterflies hidden in the puzzle include
Aphrodite (fritillary)--Appalachian brown--Atlantis (fritillary)-- Baltimore (checkerspot)--Buckeye--Comma--Common wood nymph--Compton (tortoiseshell)--Creole (pearly-eye)-- Diana (fritillary)--Eyed brown--Gemmed satyr--Goatweed (butterfly)--Gorgone (checkerspot)-- Gray comma--Great spangled (fritillary)--Gulf (fritillary)--Hackberry (butterfly)-- Harris (checkerspot)--Little wood satyr--Meadow (fritillary)--Milbert's (tortoiseshell)-- Monarch--Mourning cloak--Northern (pearly-eye)--Painted lady--Pearl crescent--Question mark-- Red admiral--Red-spotted purple--Regal (fritillary)--Silver-bordered (fritillary)-- Silvery (checkerspot)--Snout (butterfly)--Southern (pearly-eye)--Tawny emperor-- Variegated (fritillary)--Viceroy
Note: If the word is in parentheses, it is not included in the puzzle.
Answers to word search are below.
Susan Post, Center for Economic Entomology
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