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 121 - 144 of 2704 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 12, 2012
Submitted by: Nightwing
Region: Platte County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
Observation date: Aug 30, 2022
Submitted by: zeebonc
Region: McDowell County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Aug 13, 2022
Submitted by: Jay Brasher
Region: Lincoln County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 21, 2022
Submitted by: chazbo
Region: Charles County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 27, 2022
Observation date: Jul 18, 2019
Submitted by: Jennie Lanzendorf
Region: Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Ilona L.
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
Observation date: Aug 21, 2022
Submitted by: jmgesell
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 21, 2022
Observation date: Aug 15, 2022
Submitted by: csvIII
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 15, 2022
Observation date: Aug 07, 2022
Submitted by: Jbanks
Region: Cullman County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 11, 2022
Observation date: Aug 10, 2018
Submitted by: Dennis Forsythe
Region: Jasper County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Aug 10, 2022
Observation date: Jun 04, 2022
Submitted by: Vogeye
Region: Summit County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2022
Observation date: Aug 08, 2022
Submitted by: Katiewil417
Region: Onslow County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 08, 2022
Observation date: Aug 07, 2022
Submitted by: not2worry
Region: Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 07, 2022
Observation date: Aug 05, 2022
Submitted by: Elizabeth Ann
Region: Boyd County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 06, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2022
Submitted by: Liz Barnes
Region: Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 05, 2022
Observation date: Jun 24, 2022
Submitted by: StaceyNeal
Region: Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
Observation date: Sep 06, 2019
Submitted by: cshields4s2
Region: Houston County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: dlb1117
Region: Forrest County, Mississippi, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 01, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: M.pittillo
Region: Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Jul 29, 2022
Submitted by: Byecklass
Region: Leon County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: CandyKlein
Region: Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 30, 2022
Observation date: Jul 24, 2022
Submitted by: Allen B
Region: Fentress County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Jul 30, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: dncms
Region: Knox County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 30, 2022
Observation date: Jul 21, 2022
Submitted by: Mary June
Region: Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 26, 2022
Submitted by: StevebrownLepid
Region: Lynchburg, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 27, 2022
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