Tawny Emperor
Asterocampa clyton (Boisduval & Leconte, [1835])
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Apaturinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Upperside is chestnut brown; forewing with 2 brown bars in the cell, no white spots, and no eyespots near the outer margin. Hindwing uppersides are orange with black submarginal spots in one form, and all black in the other form.
Wing Span: 1 5/8 - 2 3/4 inches (4.2 - 7 cm).
Life History: Males perch on trees in full sun to watch for females. Eggs are laid in large groups of 200-500 on bark or the underside of mature leaves of host plants. Caterpillars eat leaves and young ones feed gregariously. Third-stage caterpillars hibernate in groups of about 10 inside a dead curled leaf.
Flight: One brood in the north from June-August, two broods in the south from March-November.
Caterpillar Hosts: Trees of the elm family including Celtis occidentalis, C. tenuifolia, C. laevigata, C. lindheimeri, and C. reticulata.
Adult Food: Tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion. Tawny Emperors almost never visit flowers.
Habitat: Densely wooded riparian areas, dry woods, open woods, cities, fencerows, parks.
Range: North Dakota south to Texas, east to New England through most of the southeastern states. Isolated populations in Florida, southwest New Mexico, and southeastern Arizona.
Conservation: Not usually of ocnservation concern.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 625 - 648 of 2079 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 05, 2008
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 18, 2010
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dottie Case)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 28, 2001
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 30, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 20, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon+Bruce Callahan)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 12, 2003
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (S.Berk Xerces)
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 23, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 11, 2008
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Rene Laubach #)
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 26, 2006
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Frank Model)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 17, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 07, 2004
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dottie Case)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 05, 2007
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Mark Lynch + Sheila Carroll)
Region: Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 15, 1998
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dottie Case)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Aug 06, 2005
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Frank Model)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 20, 2002
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 15, 2010
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Tom Gagnon #)
Region: Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Jul 23, 2006
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Dottie Case #)
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2 (MBC Recordkeeper)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012
Observation date: Sep 03, 2007
Submitted by: rdhealy1951@aol.com
Region: Hart County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 30, 2011
Observation date: Aug 04, 2011
Submitted by: Heidi Lange-Herzog
Region: Delaware County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 04, 2011
Observation date: Jul 17, 2009
Submitted by: Howell_Curtis
Region: Harrison County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 20, 2011
Observation date: Jul 16, 2011
Submitted by: James G. Klingler
Region: Atchison County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jim.mason
Verified date: Sep 15, 2011
Observation date: Sep 05, 2011
Submitted by: mdolomieu1
Region: Greene County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Phillip E. Koenig
Verified date: Sep 10, 2011
Observation date: Aug 26, 2011
Submitted by: rdhealy1951@aol.com
Region: Hardin County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 07, 2011
Observation date: Sep 03, 2011
Submitted by: ms722
Region: Sumner County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: stephen stedman
Verified date: Sep 05, 2011
- ‹ previous
- 27 of 87
- next ›