(Laicharting, 1782)
Nettle-tree Butterfly
Description:
The Nettle-tree Butterfly is one of the snout butterflies, so-called because of its long maxillary palps, which point forward seemingly forming a snout. They are often found in scrub or woods, where the major food plant, the Nettle Tree (Celtis australis) grows. Species of Prunus, Ulmus, or other species of Celtis are possibly also food plants.
This butterfly is a good flyer that often roams some distance from its habitat, and can be seen in all sorts of places, but it does not stray outside its distribution range.
The eggs are laid singly on the leaf buds, early in the year because this butterfly hibernates in the adult stage, appearing again in March. The green caterpillars keep mostly to the underside of the leaves, and also pupate there.
The Nettle-tree Butterfly has one generation a year; the adult hibernates sometimes as soon as August, the brown underside of its wings providing a good camouflage in the dense undergrowth where it spends the winter looking very much like a dead leaf.
Habitat:
Dry calcareous grasslands
Mixed woodland
Urban parks and gardens
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Unmistakable