Where’s Wildlife · Butterfly Field Guide
Asterocampa celtis
Pronounced (approx.): ass-ter-oh-KAM-puh SEL-tiss
A quick-flying woodland butterfly with patterned brown wings—and a habit of landing on people to sip salts from sweat.
Select the photograph to browse all four field photographs.
NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA
Look closely at the wing markings in these four field photographs. Select any image to open the full gallery.
Females lay eggs on the undersides of hackberry leaves. Caterpillars feed on the foliage and later form green chrysalises. Partly grown caterpillars overwinter in rolled leaves. [1]
Common Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and Sugarberry (Celtis laevigata) are host trees. These leaves supply the caterpillar food; adults have a very different diet. [1]
Hackberry Emperors may land on skin to take up salts from sweat. Adults also visit damp ground, tree sap, and rotting fruit, and seldom feed at flowers. [2]
Males often watch from a perch and dart out at passing animals or butterflies. Their fast, erratic flight can make them easier to notice than to photograph. [2]
Explore reported Hackberry Emperor sightings. Observation records show where people have documented butterflies and are not a complete range map.
[1] UF/IFAS Extension — Hackberry Emperor
Donald W. Hall and Jerry F. Butler. Identification, host trees, feeding, and overwintering biology.
[2] Missouri Department of Conservation — Hackberry Emperor
Habitat, adult behavior, and comparison with Tawny Emperor.