Imperial moth
Eacles imperialis (Drury, 1773)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Ceratocampinae
Identification: Females are larger than males. Upperside is yellow with pinkish brown to purple-brown patches, bands, and cell spots, and tiny brown spots scattered overall. Males have larger patches on the forewings than females, except for some subspecies pini males which have reduced purple and are mostly yellow.
Wing Span: 3 1/8 - 6 7/8 inches (8 - 17.4 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge before sunrise and mate after midnight the next day. Females lay eggs at dusk singly or in groups of 2-5 on both surfaces of host plant leaves. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks, and the caterpillars are solitary feeders. Pupation takes place in underground burrows.
Flight: One brood; in the north from June-August, in the south from April-October.
Caterpillar Hosts: Conifers and deciduous trees and shrubs including pine (Pinus), oak (Quercus), box elder (Acer negundo), maples (Acer), sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum). Confirmed feeding on Norway spruce (see record 738773). Subspecies pini feeds only on conifers.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous and evergreen forests.
Range: Maine west to eastern Nebraska, south to the Florida Keys and central Texas. Subspecies pini occurs across the northern Great Lakes basin and the northern third of Michigan's Lower Peninsula.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 2433 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: kbemrald
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 06, 2020
Observation date: Jul 02, 2016
Submitted by: William D. Courser
Region: Orleans County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: Tom Clark
Verified date: Sep 04, 2020
Observation date: Jul 12, 2019
Submitted by: Robbiemac7
Region: Chittenden County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: Tom Clark
Verified date: Sep 04, 2020
Observation date: Aug 30, 2020
Submitted by: Wbrous2
Region: East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 03, 2020
Observation date: Sep 02, 2020
Submitted by: DHarvey
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 20, 2020
Submitted by: JK1005
Region: Washington County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Aug 30, 2020
Observation date: Aug 27, 2020
Submitted by: Mikelchap
Region: Glynn County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 29, 2020
Observation date: Jul 12, 2020
Submitted by: stormyeyes99
Region: Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 28, 2020
Observation date: Aug 27, 2020
Submitted by: Cyrus Li
Region: Montgomery County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 27, 2020
Observation date: Aug 12, 2020
Submitted by: Jmullens
Region: Orange County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 24, 2020
Observation date: Aug 20, 2020
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 20, 2020
Observation date: Aug 12, 2020
Submitted by: adolinay
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 19, 2020
Observation date: Aug 02, 2020
Submitted by: Annadouglasrose
Region: Douglas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 15, 2020
Submitted by: Ljconley
Region: Conway County, Arkansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 18, 2020
Observation date: Jul 20, 2019
Submitted by: Eddie Wyatt
Region: York County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 18, 2020
Observation date: Jun 27, 2020
Submitted by: arjackson
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 15, 2020
Observation date: Aug 04, 2020
Submitted by: John Terpstra
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 15, 2020
Observation date: Aug 13, 2020
Submitted by: Huskydeb
Region: Moore County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 14, 2020
Observation date: Aug 11, 2020
Submitted by: ButterflyLover77
Region: Shelby County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 12, 2020
Observation date: Jul 11, 2020
Submitted by: katydidthat
Region: Seminole County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 11, 2020
Observation date: Jul 18, 2020
Submitted by: glassesguy
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 11, 2020
Observation date: Aug 09, 2020
Submitted by: Kimberlywebb
Region: Prince George County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2020
Observation date: Jul 25, 2020
Submitted by: Jeff McDonald
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 06, 2020
Observation date: Aug 04, 2020
Submitted by: emilybaatz
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Aug 04, 2020
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