Asterocampa celtis
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
Asterocampa celtis, the hackberry emperor, is a North American butterfly that belongs to the brushfooted butterfly family, Nymphalidae. It gets its name from the hackberry tree (Celtis occidentalis and others in the genus Celtis) upon which it lays its eggs. The hackberry tree is the only host plant for A. celtis and is the food source for larvae.
The hackberry emperor is known for being a quick, mercurial butterfly. It often is found along water sources and lowlands, although it lives in a broad range of habitats. Another notable characteristic is that it rarely is spotted visiting a flower, which is considered unusual for a butterfly.
Species in the genus Asterocampa are regarded as being "cheater" organisms, since these butterflies do not pollinate flowers when they feed from them. This species can more accurately be described as parasitizing their hosts and plant food sources since they extract nutrients without providing any benefits to the host.
As a member of the family Nymphalidae, the hackberry emperor oviposits its eggs in clutches, or clusters, upon hackberry leaves. There are a few plausible evolutionary reasons for this behavior, but the exact cause for this species' behavior is in contention. Possible explanations include higher fecundity that may be aided by aposematic coloration. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Austin | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | San Antonio | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Minneapolis [Saint Paul] | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Houston | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 United States |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Hackberry Emperor sighting in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, based on 76 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 112th most-seen of the 672 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Hackberry Emperor in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months. That is one of Minneapolis [Saint Paul]'s wettest months, with about 130 mm of rain against 20 mm in January.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Hackberry 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.
5th of 10
Of the 10 cities where we can rate Hackberry Emperor sightings, Minneapolis [Saint Paul] ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Dallas (United States, about 20%), Austin (United States, about 10%) and Chicago (United States, about 10%).
Same family: Nymphalidae
The closest relatives of the Hackberry Emperor that you can see in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (family Nymphalidae, Brush-footed Butterflies) are Monarch (about 40%), Red Admiral (about 20%) and Painted Lady (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Hackberry Emperor is recorded against all the insects logged in Minneapolis [Saint Paul] (76 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.
