Tawny Emperor

A Tawny Emperor (Asterocampa clyton), one of my hiking buddies that keeps me company as I trek up the mountain. Native to the eastern half of North America from Canada to northern Mexico. Their sole host plant is the Hackberry tree (Celtis occidentalis). Plenty of those trees around here. As adults, these butterflies don’t go to flowers for their meals – what we would expect – but for food they go for carrion, sap and dung. Oh my.

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Brenda Clements Jones

Brenda is a certified Virginia Master Naturalist, a Habitat Defender for Shenandoah National Park, and a devoted fan of Mother Nature. She lives in a cabin in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Shenandoah National Park, and hikes up to the higher elevations of her mountain often to see what nature is up to. Her constant hiking companion is a camera that captures nature as it unfolds through the seasons. It’s her goal to share the natural world around her through her photographs.