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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 241 - 264 of 2704 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 16, 2020
Submitted by: RyleeKate
Region: Lake County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 02, 2021
Observation date: Jun 19, 2020
Submitted by: MichiganMarine
Region: Grand Traverse County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 02, 2021
Observation date: Jul 11, 2020
Submitted by: oceaneyes_2390
Region: Lenawee County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 01, 2021
Observation date: Jul 17, 2020
Submitted by: spacemaster99
Region: Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 01, 2021
Observation date: Jul 21, 2020
Submitted by: doeblerm
Region: Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 01, 2021
Observation date: Jun 18, 2015
Submitted by: FourSerendipity
Region: Nantucket County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 15, 2021
Observation date: Aug 22, 2018
Submitted by: Mdmillette27
Region: Chittenden County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jan 15, 2021
Observation date: Jun 04, 2020
Submitted by: fiona7kelly7
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 14, 2021
Observation date: Sep 22, 2020
Submitted by: mercified
Region: Orange County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Dec 26, 2020
Observation date: Sep 30, 2015
Submitted by: Charflet
Region: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 18, 2020
Observation date: Aug 01, 2020
Submitted by: Lynda Parker
Region: Loudon County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Jul 04, 1983
Submitted by: podalirius
Region: Texas, Tyler County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Dec 10, 2020
Observation date: Sep 15, 2018
Submitted by: tshagge
Region: Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 04, 2020
Observation date: Jul 19, 2018
Submitted by: zimfactor
Region: Douglas County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 04, 2020
Observation date: Sep 22, 2014
Submitted by: Grandma13
Region: Marion County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 02, 2020
Observation date: Aug 28, 2018
Submitted by: BarbSendelbach
Region: Morris County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 27, 2020
Observation date: Sep 30, 2019
Submitted by: BarbSendelbach
Region: Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Nov 27, 2020
Observation date: Oct 13, 2020
Submitted by: ridgeboy
Region: Putnam County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 14, 2020
Observation date: Jul 22, 2018
Submitted by: Wade Wander
Region: Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 11, 2020
Observation date: Sep 29, 2020
Submitted by: Carey1465
Region: Carroll County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Oct 01, 2020
Observation date: Sep 25, 2020
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 26, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 2020
Submitted by: Slborden
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 22, 2020
Observation date: Jul 09, 2020
Submitted by: Ilona L.
Region: Dane County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Ilona L.
Verified date: Sep 21, 2020
Observation date: Aug 04, 2020
Submitted by: JKels
Region: Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 15, 2020
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