The Hackberry Emperor is becoming common around the Nature Center. There are several Hackberry trees in this area of the preserve, which explains their abundance. Hackberry Emperors are attracted to light colors and will readily land on people wearing white t-shirts. They are also attracted by the salts in perspiration. Several years ago, I was milling lumber by what is now the front entrance of the Nature Center. (Back then it was the barn where I stored the tractor.) I was milling some of the tulip poplar that now is the paneling in the Nature Center. This wood is quite white when it is first cut, and it attracted Hackberry Emperors by the dozens.
It was a very interesting sight. The saw mill engine was roaring. Saw dust was flying everywhere. I would be plopping heavy logs down on the mill with the diesel tractor. And there were all these delicate butterflies fluttering around. "Flocks" of butterflies would land on the wood, even while boards were being sawn from the log. Of course the butterflies were safe from the blade, but the vibration from the machinery must have been terrific. I suspected that they were getting moisture from the saw dust and wood, but they might have just been attracted to the white wood.
The Monarch Butterflies are really all over in the meadows right now. They are easy to find feeding on the bee balm and wild bergamot that is in bloom. The other orange butterfly, the Great-Spangled Fritillary, is still very common in the meadows. The Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and the Spicebush Swallowtail are still easy to find. I even saw a few silver-spotted skippers while working in the meadows earlier this week.
