northeast-flora-and-fauna

Here's a Hackberry Emperor Butterfly , one of our brush-footed/four-footed butterflies . This is a big, visually diverse butterfly family that includes many I've discussed before, like the Eastern Comma, Question Mark, Red Admiral, and Monarch. I will confess that I usually don't get a good look at their feet, so their tendency to walk on only 4 of their legs and to have fuzzy legs doesn't typically help me with an ID. But if you've got one in your hand, it could be a good clue. Unlike more versatile butterflies like the Red Admiral, the Hackberry Emperor uses only the Hackberry Tree as a host plant during its caterpillar stage. It's not uncommon for butterflies and moths to be named after their host plants; the Spicebush Swallowtail, Pipevine Swallowtail, and Snowberry Clearwing also come to mind. July 25 at Duke Farms There is a relative to the Hackberry Emperor that looks similar, the Tawny Emperor. Though the colors aren't exactly the same, I've men...