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 97 - 120 of 2704 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 29, 2019
Submitted by: Feliciahale
Region: St. Charles County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Aug 02, 2019
Submitted by: Sunnynmo
Region: Newton County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Aug 02, 2019
Submitted by: blm1965@sbcglob...
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: Justinleeschad
Region: Cole County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: Justinleeschad
Region: Cole County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Jun 02, 2018
Submitted by: Saphyrerose
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2018
Submitted by: LMuse
Region: Buchanan County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2018
Submitted by: Kkccrice
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2018
Submitted by: Kkccrice
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 14, 2018
Submitted by: lrmiller66
Region: Taney County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 29, 2017
Submitted by: wildrice
Region: Lincoln County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2017
Submitted by: ElleO
Region: Franklin County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2017
Submitted by: greent
Region: Clay County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: May 24, 2017
Submitted by: Janiece Meek
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: May 24, 2017
Submitted by: Janiece Meek
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jun 01, 2017
Submitted by: Jb3230
Region: St. Charles County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 09, 2017
Submitted by: R Hallman
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2017
Submitted by: CKirkwood
Region: St. Charles County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: Aug 31, 2022
Submitted by: calvertm
Region: Tyler County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 12, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: calvertm
Region: Tyler County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 12, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: calvertm
Region: Tyler County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 12, 2022
Observation date: Sep 17, 2018
Submitted by: Homer E
Region: Vinton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Sep 10, 2022
Submitted by: JamieLynn
Region: Aiken County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: May 22, 2022
Submitted by: arwenorion
Region: Warren County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
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