Asterocampa clyton
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
Asterocampa clyton, the tawny emperor, is a species of brush-footed butterfly. It is native to North America, especially the eastern half from Canada to northern Mexico. The tawny emperor should not be mistaken for a very similar Asterocampa butterfly, the hackberry emperor, which can be distinguished by the white spots near the tip of its forewing and the black eyespot lower along the edge of the forewing.
The upperside is mostly dark brown. The forewing is an orange-brown color with pale orange-yellow spots. The underside is mainly gray brown with the forewing having some black and pale yellowish markings. The wingspan measures 2 to 2.6 inches (51 to 66 mm). A dark morph of this species is regionally common with nearly uniformly dark hind wings.
This butterfly may be seen flying near houses, gravel driveways, near water, muddy places, gardens, and woodlands. Its only host plant is hackberry trees. The adult feeds on carrion, plant sap, and dung, and rarely land on flowers.
The female lays clusters of green eggs. The larva is green with yellow, white, or greenish stripes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cumbres de Monterrey National Park | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 4 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 6 | Baltimore | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Emperor sighting in Austin on a given day, based on 862 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 14th most-seen of the 1624 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.
October
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Tawny Emperor in Austin on a given day, against under 5% in December to March, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Tawny Emperor sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 8 cities where we can rate Tawny Emperor sightings, Austin has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come San Antonio (United States, about 10%) and Houston (United States, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Tawny Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Austin (862 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
