Page 195 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION
DIS TRIBUTION Southern and eastern United States, extending into Mexico

HABIT A T Woodland edges, riparian areas, and elds
HABITAT
HABITAT
HOST PLANTS
HOST PLANTS
HOS T PLANT S Hackberry (Celtis spp.)

NOTE
NO TE Thorny-headed, long-tailed, camou aged caterpillar
NOTE
TION S
A
T
A
TUS
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERV
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common
ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ –1⅞ in (40–47 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH

1 ⁄ –1⅜ in (30–35 mm)
ASTEROCAMPA CELTIS
HACKBERRY EMPEROR 193
(BOISDUVAL & LECONTE, 1835)

Female Hackberry Emperor butter ies lay their white or pale
yellow eggs singly or in small groups on the underside of
Hackberry leaves, choosing trees with new growth. Young
caterpillars rest there and are particularly easy to see at night

if you shine a ashlight upward. Third instars turn brown and
overwinter in rolled leaves, sometimes falling to the ground
in the fall. In spring, the larvae climb back up the tree and

resume feeding. Many di erent kinds of insect predators feed
on Hackberry Emperor caterpillars, and some fly and wasp
parasitoids destroy both caterpillars and pupae.

In northerly parts of the range, only one generation is produced
annually, but two or three generations appear elsewhere. The
adults have a very rapid ight, and males perch on foliage to
await females or aggressively patrol territories. The females
are less active than the males, but both sexes can be attracted to
rotting fruit baits.

The Hackberry Emperor caterpillar is variably
colored green with white dots. A pair of yellow
dorsal lines extends along the body from the
base of the spiny horns on the head, and there
are also yellow lateral stripes. A pair of short tails Actual size
extends from the posterior.