FEELS LIKE IN A TV AD…

Hackberry Emperor

In the last few days hundreds, if not thousands, of Hackberry Emperor butterflies have emerged and flutter around. It feels like in these TV ads that try to sell you everything with a tropical touch. Well, we have plenty of the larval host plants around here, the hackberry tree. It is not uncommon to see many of these butterfies at this time of the season but these are by far the highest numbers we have seen since we live here above the Little Maquoketa River Valley near the Mississippi. The males land on everything that is bright, sunny spots or just bright objects, and await the females. They don’t hesitate to land on your skin and I read that they readily land on people to drink sweat for salt.

An event like that is a perfect reason to get the old, well trusted SIGMA 150/f2.8 macro lens out of the bag. It doesn’t focus very fast in comparison to more modern lenses, but if it locks on, the sharpness is absolutely wonderful.

NATURE CLICKS #462 - TAWNY EMPEROR

The Tawny Emperor is not as common as its sister species, the Hackberry Emperor (see my latest post about it HERE), although they can often be found together because they share the same habitat and food source. As already mentioned in my earlier blog post, we have hundreds of butterflies here in our woods since at least a couple weeks. We can sit in the sun for a while and they will land in your hair or on your legs. Joan and I debated why we see so many more this year than any other year before. We don’t know, but maybe the mild winter played a role. However, we enjoy the presence of butterflies up on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River Valley here in eastern Iowa.

By the way, this was not shot with a macro lens. I had the Sigma 150-600 on camera for some hummingbirds this weekend and while waiting for their performance, this Tawny Emperor in the front yard became suddenly the subject. As always, I’m not an “eye ball photographer” but the lines of the hostas leaves and the emperor lined up perfectly and some water from the last shower was left on the leave. Summer in eastern Iowa…

NATURE CLICKS #461 - HACKBERRY EMPEROR

If we would have to crown a butterfly of the year by now, it would be the Hackberry Emperor. I can’t speak for the rest of the county or state, but here, in and above the Little Maquoketa River Valley, we see them presently by the hundreds if not more. We have quite a few hackberry trees in our woods here, their only larval food plant, and we see quite a few every year around. But this year is different and their numbers are much higher. 

They like the sunny spots on our front porch in the evening and making the photo with the SIGMA 150, f/2.8 Macro lens is not a difficult task.