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 409 - 432 of 2704 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 13, 2019
Submitted by: Mraimer
Region: Kent County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 13, 2019
Observation date: Sep 11, 2019
Submitted by: Bulldogz71
Region: Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 13, 2019
Observation date: Aug 28, 2019
Submitted by: cmestrovich
Region: Citrus County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 11, 2019
Observation date: Sep 08, 2019
Submitted by: Bobcat33
Region: Stark County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 09, 2019
Submitted by: MelodiaRain
Region: Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 06, 2019
Submitted by: jwalker
Region: Texas, Wood County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: Courk
Region: Summit County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: flowermom
Region: Sussex County, Delaware, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 08, 2019
Submitted by: knlivel
Region: Perry County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 07, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: TXRagamuffin
Region: Gillespie County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Jul 29, 2019
Submitted by: Rahzar
Region: Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: Pam Solursh
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: Love2learn
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 04, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: Jessicaqa
Region: Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: KelleyBartek
Region: Bell County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: dtripp51
Region: Guadalupe County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: srayos
Region: Texas, Williamson County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Aug 15, 2019
Submitted by: vstrain
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 03, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: ToriPines5691
Region: Lake County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: ToriPines5691
Region: Lake County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Sep 02, 2019
Submitted by: CTimmins
Region: Hays County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Aug 20, 2019
Submitted by: djwalden
Region: Vernon Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 01, 2019
Observation date: Aug 31, 2019
Submitted by: mamurphy
Region: Essex County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 01, 2019
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