Papillon impérial
Eacles imperialis
Papillon de nuit
Grand papillon de nuit jaune et violet de la famille des Saturniidae dont les larves se nourrissent d'Acer (érable), de Quercus (chêne), de Pinus, de Sassafras et d'une grande variété d'autres plantes ligneuses caduques et persistantes. Les chenilles peuvent atteindre 4 inches et se nourrissent isolément en bordure du couvert forestier. L'envergure de l'adulte est de 3-7 inches ; les adultes ne se nourrissent pas. Les populations ont diminué de façon notable dans l'est des États-Unis en raison d'une combinaison de pollution lumineuse (perturbe l'accouplement), de fragmentation de l'habitat et de la pression des tachinaires parasites introduits.
Conservation
Aucune inscription formelle à l'IUCN, mais en déclin sur l'ensemble de l'aire orientale selon de nombreuses observations au niveau des États ; planter des arbres de canopée indigènes (les chênes en particulier) et réduire l'éclairage extérieur sont les mesures de conservation recommandées.
Plants in the catalog
Plantes hôtes des larves · 11
The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center documents black walnut as a larval host for large silk moths (Saturniidae), naming the luna and regal moths; the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) is a closely related polyphagous Saturniid that also uses walnut, mapped here as the nearest catalogued silk-moth host.
Oaks (Quercus spp.) are among the commonly reported larval hosts of the polyphagous imperial moth (Eacles imperialis), per Butterflies and Moths of North America; host use is regional, so this is recorded as plausible rather than a documented bur-oak-specific record.
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on Quercus canopy through summer alongside multiple hairstreak (Banded, Edward's, Gray, White-M per NC State) and duskywing (Horace's, Juvenal's) species. Oak canopy is the foundational eastern hardwood Lep habitat.
NC State: "Members of the genus Acer support Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south."
NC State documents sassafras among the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larval hosts alongside maples, oaks, and pines.
Carya hosts imperial moth + multiple hairstreak + duskywing species — among Tallamy's keystone genera with hundreds of supported Lepidoptera.
Like all oaks, live oak hosts imperial moth + multiple hairstreak + duskywing species.
NC State: "Members of the genus Acer support Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae which have one brood per season and appear from April-October in the south."
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on Quercus canopy through summer; one of the giant silk moths declining across the eastern range due to light pollution. Planting oaks is the canonical conservation action.
Répartition
Est et centre de l'Amérique du Nord, du sud de l'Ontario jusqu'en Floride ; une génération par an dans le sud (avril-octobre), les populations nordiques produisant un vol en fin d'été.