Eacles imperialis
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| iImperial moth | ||||||||||||||||
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| Image:Imperial adult male1 sjh.JPG Eacles imperialis, adult male
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
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| Eacles imperialis (Drury, 1773) |
The Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) is a Nearctic member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae.
Contents |
[edit] Range
It ranges from Mexico to Canada and from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast.
[edit] Life Cycle
There is only one brood a year.
[edit] Egg
Eggs are laid on the underside of leaves in clusters of 2-5. They take approximately two weeks to hatch. The day before they hatch, the egg turns from milky yellow to translucent white.
[edit] Larva
First instar lasts generally only a few days. After hatching, the caterpillars tend to wander around before finally settling on eating the particular plant they are on. After a few days, a small amount of silk is placed on the major vein of a leaf. The caterpillar then molts from that position leaving the old exoskeleton behind. Sometimes the shed exoskeleton is eaten. This continues on over most of the instar. Around the third or fourth instar, variation is noticeable. The caterpillars in the third and fourth instar vary from orange to black on the head, spines, body, and feet. In the fifth instar, there are two distinct variations in orange and green form.
[edit] Pupa
As with most of this subfamily, when the caterpillars are ready to pupate, they burrow underground.
[edit] Adult
Adults emerge once a year to mate. In the northern part of their range they tend to emerge mid summer (June - August), while in the southern half they tend to emerge at more varied times (April - October).
As with all of Saturniidae, the adults do not feed. Their mouthparts have been reduced.
[edit] Images of Life Cycle
Imperial moth eggs |
1st instar |
2nd instar |
3rd instar |
4th instar |
5th instar |
[edit] Sexual Dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is present in this species and all of Saturniidae :-
- The males are generally smaller and show larger patches of purple.
- The females are generally larger, mostly from carrying eggs, and are more yellow.
- The antenna of the male is fibrous.
[edit] Food plants
Larvae feast on a variety of host plants including:
- Quercus (Oak)
- Acer (Maple)
- Liquidambar styraciflua (American Sweetgum)
- Sassafras albidum (Sassafras)
- Pinus (Pine)
[edit] Other information
There is a high amount of variation within this species. The colors of the adult are always yellow and purple but can vary distinctly on this. Generally there is more purple on the forewing and more purple on males. However, one subspecies tends to have a distinct coating of purple over the entire wings.
