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Eacles imperialis

(Imperial Moth)

Conservation Status

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Population Analysis

  • For the 844,129 species in the Class Insecta (Insects), we average 3.71 observations each in our database; for the Imperial Moth, we have 216 observations. Compared to other species in this Class, this species is moderately common.
  • A two-sample t-test can be used to determine whether the trend in observations of the Imperial Moth is the same as the trend in observations of Insecta. Is this species just as common, as a proportion of all observations, as it once was? The answer is no, changes in observation rate of this species significantly differ from changes in observation rate of its Class. (t=4.379, p<0.001)
  • How do observation rates of the Imperial Moth differ from those of Insecta? To answer this, we examined the percentage of observerations for Insecta that were observations of the Imperial Moth each year. We then correlated this percentage with observation year. If observations of the Imperial Moth are becoming more common relative to other species of Insecta, the correlation should be positive, but if it is becoming less common, the correlation should be negative. In fact, the correlation is negative (r=-.25), with a negative slope (m = -.000), suggesting that the Imperial Moth may be in decline relative to other species of Insecta. This correlation is statistically significant. (F = 44.27, p<.05)
  • The scatter chart to the right shows the percentage of all observations for Insecta each year that were observations of the Imperial Moth.

Status

G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Taxonomy

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Notes:

Name Status: Accepted Name.

Physical Description

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Subfamily Citheroniinae:

Royal moths are members of the Family Saturniidae. Adults are medium to very large in size; some species have wingspans 3-7cm and others have wingspans as large as 17 cm. The adult moths have hairy bodies and relatively small heads that are held close to the thorax. Caterpillars feed mostly on leaves of trees and shrubs. Royal moths pupate in a cell in the soil.

Color:

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.

Size/Age/Growth:

Wing span: 3 1/8 - 6 7/8 inches (8 - 17.4 cm).

Images:

Distribution

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Range and Population

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.

Habitat

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Deciduous and evergreen forests.

Diet

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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). Subspecies pini feeds only on conifers. Adult food: Adults do not feed.

Reproduction

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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.

Behavior

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Flight: One brood; in the north from June-August, in the south from April-October.

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Eacles:

There are approximately 49 species and subspecies in this genus: E. acuta · E. adoxa · E. amazonica · E. ambicolor · E. anchicayensis · E. approximans · E. barnesi · E. bertrandi · E. cacicus · E. callopteris · E. canaima · E. columbiana · E. cybele · E. decoris · E. didyma · E. ducalis · E. fairchildi · E. fulvaster · E. guianensis · E. guinlei · E. imperatoria · E. imperialis (Imperial Moth) · E. imperialis imperialis (Imperial Moth) · E. imperialis pini (Imperial Moth) · E. johnsoniella · E. lauroi · E. lemairei · E. lombardi · E. magnifica · E. majestalis · E. manuelita · E. masoni · E. mayi · E. niepelti · E. nobilis · E. opaca · E. ormondei · E. oslari (Oslar's Eacles) · E. penelope · E. peruvianus · E. pini · E. punctatissima · E. quintanensis · E. suffusa · E. tricolor · E. tucumana · E. typica · E. tyrannus · E. violacea

More Info

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Notes

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Contributors:

  • Bisby FA, Roskov YR, Orrell TM, Nicolson D, Paglinawan LE, Bailly N, Kirk PM, Bourgoin T, van Hertum J, eds (2008). Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2008 Annual Checklist Taxonomic Classification. CD-ROM; Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
  • Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2005. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. [http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/Taxonomicon/]. Access date: Nov 23, 2005
  • Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
  • LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index
  • Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.

Data Sources:

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

  • Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica

Identifiers:

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Last Revised: May 11, 2008