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 385 - 408 of 2704 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 27, 2019
Submitted by: ctsmith10
Region: Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 28, 2019
Observation date: Sep 16, 2019
Submitted by: Ashleyberq
Region: Clarke County, Iowa, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 26, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: RowdyGirl78
Region: Carroll County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 25, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: krista_kaye
Region: Jefferson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 25, 2019
Observation date: Sep 24, 2019
Submitted by: MStaples
Region: Saline County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 25, 2019
Observation date: Sep 25, 2019
Submitted by: kdegeiso
Region: New Castle County, Delaware, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 25, 2019
Observation date: Sep 24, 2019
Submitted by: whbauer
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 24, 2019
Observation date: Sep 24, 2019
Submitted by: rayxray
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 24, 2019
Observation date: Sep 22, 2019
Submitted by: mariposa6009
Region: Seminole County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 23, 2019
Observation date: Sep 19, 2019
Submitted by: auntshell13
Region: Wake County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 22, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: vvryabyy
Region: Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 21, 2019
Submitted by: hsthockey
Region: Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 21, 2019
Observation date: Sep 19, 2019
Submitted by: Jc55
Region: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 20, 2019
Observation date: Sep 19, 2019
Submitted by: tcalla
Region: Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 19, 2019
Observation date: Sep 18, 2019
Submitted by: Susanschool
Region: Racine County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Ilona L.
Verified date: Sep 19, 2019
Observation date: Sep 18, 2019
Submitted by: Johnny Redeyes
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: Colette Grace
Region: St. Lawrence County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 18, 2019
Observation date: Sep 13, 2019
Submitted by: Deyonjo
Region: Union County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 17, 2019
Observation date: Sep 16, 2019
Submitted by: fjulias
Region: Citrus County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 17, 2019
Observation date: Sep 15, 2019
Submitted by: tankman1972
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 16, 2019
Observation date: Jul 12, 2019
Submitted by: Dora Diercks
Region: Randolph County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 15, 2019
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: Alamble
Region: Douglas County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 15, 2019
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: KSteffens
Region: Montgomery County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 15, 2019
Observation date: Sep 10, 2019
Submitted by: SusanAndres
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 13, 2019
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