Episode 14

The Butterfly That Endures – The Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Some butterflies bloom in the fleeting warmth of summer, their lives measured in days. Others—like the Mourning Cloak Butterfly—persist. They outlast winter’s hush, survive the cold, and reemerge stronger, enduring through the cycles of time.

In this episode of Gleam of Butterflies, we uncover the mystique of the Mourning Cloak, a butterfly that:

🦋 Braves the winter—one of the few butterflies that hibernates as an adult, reawakening before the snow has fully melted.

🦋 Wears the colors of resilience—deep, velvety brown cloaked in a golden border, like a symbol of wisdom and time.

🦋 Carries deep cultural meaning—seen as a messenger of remembrance, strength, and the unseen.

🦋 Teaches us that survival isn’t about speed—it’s about knowing when to be still, when to wait, and when to rise again.


Join Adrian Adair, The King of Butterflies, as we explore the butterfly that defies time and transforms endurance into beauty.

About the Podcast

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Gleam Of Butterflies
A poetic journey into the mystery, beauty, and transformation of butterflies. Hosted by Adrian Adair

About your host

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Adrian Adair

There are those who simply admire butterflies—and then there are those who seem to move with them, understanding their silent language, following their unseen paths.

Adrian Adair is one of the latter.

The creator and voice behind Gleam of Butterflies, Adrian doesn’t just study butterflies—he listens to them. He traces their flight through myth and time, unearthing the stories they carry on their wings. With each episode, he takes listeners on a journey through forgotten legends, poetic symbolism, and the quiet miracles of nature.

His voice is both a guide and a whisper—leading through the gilded shimmer of the Blue Morpho, the spectral mystery of the Black Swallowtail, the eternal migration of the Monarch. He speaks of butterflies as spirits, as omens, as echoes of transformation, revealing what cultures across history have always known: these creatures are more than delicate wings. They are messages, waiting to be understood.

Some people chase butterflies. Adrian walks among them.

Follow the flight, and step into the wonder.