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Imperial moth
Imperial moth
Eacles imperialis
Moth
Large yellow-and-purple silk moth (Saturniidae) whose larvae feed on Acer (maple), Quercus (oak), Pinus, Sassafras, and a wide range of other deciduous and evergreen woody plants. Caterpillars can reach 4 inches and feed solitary at the canopy edge. The adult moth's wingspan is 3-7 inches; adults do not feed. Populations have declined meaningfully across the eastern United States due to a combination of light pollution (disrupts mating), habitat fragmentation, and parasitoid pressure from introduced tachinid flies.
Conservation
No formal IUCN listing but declining across the eastern range per multiple state-level observations; planting native canopy trees (oaks especially) and reducing outdoor lighting are the canonical conservation actions.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 11
Black walnut
Juglans nigra
Plausible
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.
Bur oak
Quercus macrocarpa
Plausible
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.
Eastern white pine
Pinus strobus
Documented
Northern red oak
Quercus rubra
Documented
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.
Red maple
Acer rubrum
Documented
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."
Sassafras
Sassafras albidum
Documented
NC State documents sassafras among the imperial moth (Eacles imperialis) larval hosts alongside maples, oaks, and pines.
Shagbark hickory
Carya ovata
Documented
Carya hosts imperial moth + multiple hairstreak + duskywing species — among Tallamy's keystone genera with hundreds of supported Lepidoptera.
Southern live oak
Quercus virginiana
Documented
Like all oaks, live oak hosts imperial moth + multiple hairstreak + duskywing species.
Sugar maple
Acer saccharum
Documented
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."
Vine maple
Acer circinatum
Documented
White oak
Quercus alba
Documented
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.
Range
Eastern and central North America from southern Ontario to Florida; one brood per year in the south (April-October), with northern populations producing one flight in late summer.
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