Hackberry Butterfly – Asterocampa celtis

Family Nymphalidae / Subfamily: Apaturinae. Live butterflies photographed at Ogle County, Illinois.

Hackberry butterflies are fast and erratic fliers, and frequently rest upside down on tree trunks. Males perch on tall objects in sunny areas to watch for females. Eggs are laid in clusters, and the caterpillars feed communally. Caterpillars overwinter in groups gathered inside dead rolled leaves.

Flight: Two broods from May-October.

Host Plants: Hackberry (Celtis species) and sugarberry (Celtis laevigata).
Adult Food: Sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion. Will take moisture at wet spots along roads and streams.
Habitat: Along wooded streams, forest glades and river edges, wooded roadsides, towns.
Range: Resident in most of the eastern United States, central Plains states, and northern Mexico.

Hackberry tree photographed at the Morton Arboretum, Lisle Illinois

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