Bug FAQHackberry Emperor
Asterocampa celtis · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
The Hackberry Emperor is a light-brown butterfly about 1.4 inches long that lives wherever hackberry trees grow across much of North America. Its larvae feed on hackberry leaves, while adults sip sap, eat carrion, feces, old fruit, and rarely visit flowers. It produces two generations per year; pupae develop on the underside of hackberry leaves and emerge in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The body measures roughly 1.4 inches in length.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It lives wherever hackberry trees are found, including cities, forests, and wooded areas, especially near rivers or other water bodies.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on hackberry leaves and leaf buds. Adults mostly sip hackberry sap, eat feces, carrion, and old fruit, and they rarely visit flowers for nectar.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults lay two broods each year. Pupae are attached to the underside of hackberry leaves and turn into adults in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Pupae develop on hackberry leaves and emerge as adults in early summer.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range covers much of North America, from central Mexico up into eastern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The front-wing white spots distinguish it from the Tawny Emperor.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 43 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Missouri, Virginia, Arkansas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asterocampa_celtis
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.