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Emperors (subfamily Apaturinae) and Snouts (subfamily Libytheinae), family Nymphalidae
These are two very small sub-families that have one thing in common: their larvae feed exclusively on hackberries. The adult butterflies of the Hackberry Emperor stand out in a number of ways: they circle wildly around people, frequently landing on them (inserting their probosces through cloth, apparently to take in minerals from sweat), or just go up high in trees.
Emperors (Asterocampa genus)
Tawny Emperors (Asterocampa clyton)
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Tawny Emperor, Penny's Bend, Durham County, NC, 8/24/05 | Tawny Emperor, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, Orange County, NC, 8/24/05. | Tawny Emperor, Johnston Mill, Orange County, NC, 7/1/06 |
Hackberry Emperors (Asterocampa celtis)
American Snout (Libytheana bachmanii)
The "snout" is actually the butterfly's palps, which serve as sense organs.
© Copyright 2005 Dorothy E. Pugh