Asterocampa leilia | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Nymphalidae |
Genus: | Asterocampa |
Species: | A. leilia
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Binomial name | |
Asterocampa leilia W.H. Edwards, 1874
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Synonyms | |
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Asterocampa leilia, the Empress Leilia, Leilia hackberry butterfly or desert hackberry,[1] is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Adults are brownish orange, with white and black spots on the bottom of the wings.[2] The length of the wings is 1.5 to 2 inches (38 to 51 mm).[3]
The species can be found in the south-western United States, including Arizona and Texas, as well as Mexico.
Adults feed on dung, sap and rotten fruit.[4] In very rare cases the species will feed on nectar. They live in canyons, streamsides, thorn scrubs, and washes.[5] Males of the species will wait near their food plants for females to appear.[6] Larvae feed on hackberry.[7]