Hackberry Emperor

Asterocampa celtis

The Hackberry Emperor is a beautiful butterfly with orange and brown wings. It loves to flutter around in sunny spots and can often be seen resting on tree trunks.

Lebensraum: Forests

Aussehen

The Hackberry Emperor is a medium-sized butterfly, featuring mottled gray-brown or brownish-orange wings with a few small, pale spots and dark markings. Its underside is cryptically patterned, allowing it to blend seamlessly with tree bark, particularly the hackberry tree.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamilieNymphalidaeGattungAsterocampa

Hackberry Emperor

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Adult Hackberry Emperors almost never drink nectar from flowers.

Their caterpillars wear a "head crown" with two tiny, branched horns.

These butterflies love to land on people, tasting their skin with their feet!

They often "dance" together in the air, especially in the afternoon sun!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Hackberry Emperor has mottled gray-brown wings that help them perfectly camouflage on tree trunks, making them very hard to spot.

Hackberry Emperor can sip on tree sap, rotting fruit, or even animal droppings because of its specialized proboscis, helping them get nutrients.

Hackberry Emperor can use its clubbed antennae to detect host plants and find suitable mates, helping them navigate their world.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 45-65 mm
Größe: 20-30 mm
Lebenserwartung: 15-20 Tage
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Caterpillars munch hackberry leaves; adults prefer tree sap, rotting fruit, and other liquids.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae are herbivorous, feeding on hackberry leaves. Adults are saprophagous/scavengers, drinking tree sap, rotting fruit, and animal waste.

Hauptnahrung

Hackberry Leaves
Tree Sap
Rotting Fruit
Animal Droppings
Aphid Honeydew

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

depends on

Hackberry Tree

Celtis occidentalis

Caterpillars eat its leaves; adults feed on its sap and perch.

eaten by

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

Blue Jays prey on caterpillars and adult butterflies.

parasitizes

Tobacco Hornworm Wasp

Cotesia congregata

Parasitic wasps lay eggs on caterpillars, consuming them from within.

eaten by

Virginia Opossum

Didelphis virginiana

Opossums can consume larvae and pupae when foraging.

Merkmale

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Bestäubermagnet

Beschreibt Pflanzen, die für eine Vielzahl von bestäubenden Organismen besonders attraktiv und nützlich sind.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Pflanzenfressend

Dieses Merkmal kennzeichnet Lebewesen, deren Ernährung vollständig oder hauptsächlich aus pflanzlichem Material besteht.

Wald

Waldlebensräume sind terrestrische Lebensräume, die von dichtem Baumbestand dominiert werden und eine große Vielfalt an Pflanzen- und Tierarten beherbergen.