Tortoiseshell Butterflies at Frog Bay Tribal National Park

“If we are looking for models of self-sustaining communities, we need look no further than an old-growth forest. Or the old-growth cultures they raised in symbiosis with them.” -Robin Wall Kimmerer, “Braiding Sweetgrass,” 2013

Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis l-album), Frog Bay Tribal National Park, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. 

This is a Compton Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis l-album) butterfly, also known as memengwaa. A few dozen of these tortoiseshells were basking along the ecotone of old-growth boreal forest and Lake Superior while I walked the sunny shore of Frog Bay this summer. For butterflies, tortoiseshells are extremely long-lived. Sometimes for several months as adults, tortoiseshells are large and fast. Some can reach altitudes of three miles into the sky on thermal winds, with specialized tendons in their wings keep from being torn apart.

Notice the leaf-like camouflage of the tortoiseshell's underwing. Frog Bay TNP.

 
Right now, any surviving butterflies are tucked away under the snow. Overwintering as adults, the butterflies sneak into tree holes, rock crevices, and even human homes. Once their beautiful wings are closed, a tortoiseshell looks just like a dead leaf and becomes virtually invisible to any adversaries. Almost magical processes of cellular dehydration and supercooling keep them alive through subzero temperatures. Hopefully many of these butterflies are now hidden from the outside world, peacefully awaiting spring to kickstart the next generation.