Field Notes Update

Making Friends with an Emperor: Hackberry Emperor Butterfly /  by Todd Henson

A hackberry emperor butterfly landed on my pants

While walking the grounds of Blandy Experimental Farm, the State Arboretum of Virginia, I had the opportunity to befriend a hackberry emperor butterfly. It landed on my pants and didn’t want to leave, busily licking my pants with its proboscis, which looks like a very long tongue. Apparently it’s common for this species to land on and lick people for the sodium in their sweat. I have to assume I’d been sweating right through my pants as this little butterfly just didn’t want to leave.

Though it remained on my pants, every so often the hackberry emperor butterfly would flap its wings

A front view of the hackberry emperor butterfly showing off its proboscis

The underside of hackberry emperor butterfly wings are lighter in color than the top

The hackberry in their name comes from the fact they only lay their eggs on the hackberry tree, which provides food for their larvae. When adults they feed on the hackberry sap, but also from sources away from the tree, like dead and decaying animals and fruit, among other things (human sweat).

A closeup view of the head and proboscis of the hackberry emperor butterfly

Interestingly, the hackberry emperor frequents flowers less often than many other butterfly species. And when it does visit a flower it seems to do so very carefully, only reaching in with its proboscis and avoiding touching pollen with its legs or antenna. This means it’s not a very good pollinator and thought of more as a parasitic insect, leeching off plants without providing any benefit to them.

A parting view of the hackberry emperor butterfly perched on my pants

Thankfully, though, it does provide one benefit I’m aware of, and that’s the joy of seeing it. It’s a beautiful little butterfly, and one I hope to encounter again.

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The Invasive Spotted Lanternfly /  by Todd Henson

The final nymphal stage of a spotted lanternfly

My father and I visited Blandy Experimental Farm, the State Arboretum of Virginia, in mid-August of 2023. While there I saw a flash of red moving on the bark of a tree just beside their bamboo grove. When I looked closer I saw an insect I’d never seen before, a very curious looking insect in red, black and white. And it very obviously noticed me. Every time I got close it stopped moving, and when I moved away it began moving very quickly up the trunk. It was on the shaded side of the tree so I pushed up my camera’s ISO and captured what views I could of this little creature.

Red, black and white, a spotted lanternfly nymph

It was only later, when I was back home and began researching, that I learned this creature was the final nymphal stage of a spotted lanternfly, an invasive species that is spreading quickly across areas of the United States and causing problems for agriculture. It’s native to parts of China and Vietnam, and as is usually the case, isn’t quite the problem in those regions because there are species that keep it in check. But in other regions it can cause great harm to crops and other plants even though its preferred host is the tree of heaven, another invasive species in this area.

To try to deal with it Blandy began an effort to cut back and destroy all the tree of heaven on their grounds. They had previously planted some of these trees for research, but they also are very widespread and considered the most common weed tree in the area. Tree of heaven is a very tough species and they describe trying to kill it as “like trying to kill a vampire: Weaken him with sunlight, holy artifacts, and garlic, then stab him a few hundred times and see what happens.”

If the insects only fed on tree of heaven things might be ok, as one species might get rid of the other, then die out. But the insects only prefer tree of heaven, they don’t require it. If there aren’t enough of these they’ll happily feed on roses, grapes, fruit trees, walnuts, maples, etc, and Blandy was most concerned about their maples, walnuts and ornamental fruit trees.

You might think that if it’s so difficult to kill off the host tree, why not go directly at the spotted lanternflies? Well, they tried that, too, but the insects are also very tough to get rid of. They had a great description of this for those who enjoy reading fantasy and classics: “Its host tree may be Dracula, but the lanternflies themselves are Tolkienian orcs; for each one slain, a hundred more rise from the foul earth to take its place.”

Looking down on a spotted lanternfly nymph

And so they fight what seems a losing battle hoping, in time, they may arrive at some equilibrium. Perhaps the tide will turn if a local parasite realizes it can feed on spotted lanternflies.

My father and I learned first hand how bad it had become in that area, as we visited Sky Meadows State Park in early September, a park not too far from Blandy. While hiking through the woods my father saw something move and land just in front of us. It turned out to be an adult spotted lanternfly. Later that day we stopped for lunch in the outskirts of Front Royal and while in the restaurant I kept seeing insects flying outside and I kept thinking spotted lanterfly. When we left and got a closer view there were dozens and dozens of adults flying all around the parking lot and on the buildings. I just hope none hitched a ride on my car when we returned home.

An adult spotted lanternfly on the ground

It’s unfortunate it does such damage when it finds itself outside its native range, as it’s a very interesting and attractive creature. The adult is especially attractive when it opens its wings and reveals the red underneath.

Read through the following links to learn more about the spotted lanterfly, the damage it can cause outside its native range, and what different areas are doing about it:

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Dogbane Leaf Beetle /  by Todd Henson

Dogbane leaf beetle

While hiking, my father and I were drawn to some shiny metallic colors on several leaves along the trail. When we looked closer we found beetles, very shiny and colorful beetles. Using the Seek app it would appear these are dogbane beetles (Chrysochus auratus), a native of eastern North America. I can’t tell you how great it is to photograph something and discover it’s actually a native and not an introduced species.

A stretching dogbane leaf beetle

As their name implies, they’re often found around dogbane plants, and in fact that is their main source of food. Interestingly, these plants contain toxins fatal to many creatures, and apparently they can cause cardiac arrest in people. And yet, because of a genetic mutation, the dogbane beetle is able to safely ingest these toxins. And they can even use these toxins as a defense if threatened, spraying them on any nearby predator.

Dogbane leaf beetle love

We found one pair of beetles mating, and it would seem this is not at all unusual. They reportedly mate up to once a day almost every day. Busy little beetles. But I suppose this makes sense given their lifespan is only 40 to 60 days.

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