Asterocampa celtis – A Thousand Acres of Silphiums

2025 Caterpillar Species – Hackberry Emperor

2025 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Hackberry Emperor
Asterocampa celtis fam. Nymphalidae (Hodges#4557)
Host plant(s): Found on hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)
Date(s) and location(s): 31 August, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This species is generally considered as bivoltine, meaning there are two broods per season. The second generation overwinters as caterpillars. Third-instar caterpillars climb down their trees to spend the winter hidden in hibernacula (leaf shelters) that they create among the leaf litter. The following spring they climb back to the treetops to complete their lifecycle with the newly emerged leaves.

2024 Caterpillar Season – Hackberry Emperor

2024 Caterpillar Season, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

For the past month or so I’ve been hitting the trails hard, trying my best to find caterpillars in the early to mid season. As expected, this has been tougher than the late season for me. My success rate in finding interesting and new species has been lower than I would like, but good thing the one strength I feel I truly possess in this life is pertinacity.

Usually by the late season cat hunts, hackberry trees (Celtis sp.) have all but dropped their leaves or look as though they should. Once I started beating branches of hackberries this summer, I found that the two species of Asterocampa (Nymphalidae) found in Missouri were quite easily found. Not only are the hackberry butterfly adults beautiful, but I find the caterpillars to be extremely cute as I hope you can agree with the photos below of the hackberry emperor (Asterocampa celtis).