Mariposa-imperial
Eacles imperialis
Mariposa
Grande mariposa-da-seda amarela e roxa (Saturniidae) cujas larvas se alimentam de Acer (bordo), Quercus (carvalho), Pinus, Sassafras e uma ampla variedade de outras plantas lenhosas decíduas e perenes. As lagartas podem alcançar 4 inches e se alimentam solitárias na borda da copa. A envergadura da mariposa adulta é de 3-7 inches; os adultos não se alimentam. As populações declinaram de forma significativa em todo o leste dos Estados Unidos devido a uma combinação de poluição luminosa (que perturba o acasalamento), fragmentação de habitat e pressão de parasitoides por moscas tachinídeas introduzidas.
Conservação
Sem listagem formal na IUCN, mas em declínio em toda a área de distribuição oriental segundo várias observações em nível estadual; plantar árvores nativas de copa (carvalhos especialmente) e reduzir a iluminação externa são as ações de conservação canônicas.
Plants in the catalog
Plantas hospedeiras de larvas · 15
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.
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on Carya foliage; hickories are among Tallamy's keystone Lepidoptera-host genera.
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on oak foliage alongside numerous hairstreaks and duskywings that also use Quercus. Oak canopy is the foundational eastern-hardwood host habitat for native Lepidoptera.
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.
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on oak foliage through summer; oaks are among the foundational larval hosts of the eastern hardwood Lepidoptera community.
Carya hosts imperial moth + multiple hairstreak + duskywing species — among Tallamy's keystone genera with hundreds of supported Lepidoptera.
Imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larvae feed on oak foliage among the many hairstreak and duskywing species oak canopy hosts; oak is one of the most important larval-host genera in eastern North America.
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.
Distribuição
Leste e centro da América do Norte, do sul de Ontário até a Flórida; uma ninhada por ano no sul (April-October), com as populações do norte produzindo um único voo no fim do verão.