Interspecific Territorial Behavior of Two Mourning Cloaks (Nymphalis antiopa) in Response to a Diurnally Active Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Nicholas M. Anich^1,*, J. Paul White², and Stephen E. Anich³

¹Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 2501 Golf Course Road, Ashland, WI 54806. ²Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Madison WI 53703. ³12601 Yukon Trail, Minocqua, WI 54548. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 27, Issue 3 (2020): N53–N57

Abstract
Nymphalis antiopa (Mourning Cloak), a common daytime-flying butterfly, is known to exhibit territorial defense against small animals that share the same airspace. However, a bat seems to be an unlikely target for this aggression because bats are potential predators and diurnal bat activity is rarely observed. Here, we report territorial behavior of 2 Mourning Cloaks in response to a diurnally active Eptesicus fuscus (Big Brown Bat). This report is unusual in that it involves a non-predatory cross-phylum interaction, between an insect and a mammal.

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