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Giant Silk
Moth Survey

TAWNY EMPEROR (Asterocampa clyton)

Identification
Chestnut-brown above with yellowish spots on forewing and two complete black bars on inner leading edge. Hindwing is usually dark or smoky and has black submariginal eyespots. Underside is extremely variable.

Massachusetts Butterfly Club photographs

Kaufman's Butterflies of North America, page 158
Glassberg's Butterflies Through Binoculars, plate 27

Habitat in Vermont
Floodplain forests

Host Plant
American Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis)

Adult Food Preferences
Tree sap, rotting fruit, dung, carrion; almost never visits
flowers. Sometimes on mud.

U.S. Distribution

VBS Distribution

VBS Flight Period



Notes
Finding this butterfly entails knowing its host plant – Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis). In Vermont, Hackberry grows in the Champlain Valley and Connecticut River Valley, with
some migration “inland” along major rivers (like the Winooski). Look for warty bark and acuminate (tapering to a sharp point), elm-like leaves. Tawny Emperor may move
around in pursuit of its host plant.

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