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.
Plan pour cette espèce
Ensemble de plantes adaptées à Chicago, IL : d'abord les plantes hôtes et spécialistes, puis les plantes à nectar, fruits, graines, feuillage et abri qui restent compatibles avec la lecture climatique actuelle et du milieu du siècle.
6 relations essentielles / 0 plantes de soutien
Liens hôte/spécialiste : 6
Liens fourrage/pollinisation : 0
Liens abri : 0
Rôles de relation : 1
Chêne noir
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage alongside the hairstreaks and duskywings that also use Quercus on dry upland sites.
Chêne châtaignier
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage across the eastern hardwood range this species occupies.
Chêne chinquapin
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage across the eastern hardwood range this species occupies.
Pin blanc de l'Est
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
Pin à encens
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
Imperial moth is one of the few large saturniids that feeds on pine as well as hardwoods, and loblolly is within its southeastern range. The pine-feeding larvae are green and strikingly different in appearance from the hardwood-feeding form.
Chêne rouge du Nord
Essentielle / Plantes hôtes des larves
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.
Plantes du catalogue
Plantes hôtes des larves · 23
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage alongside the hairstreaks and duskywings that also use Quercus on dry upland sites.
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 larvae feed on oak foliage across the eastern hardwood range this species occupies.
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage across the eastern hardwood range this species occupies.
Imperial moth is one of the few large saturniids that feeds on pine as well as hardwoods, and loblolly is within its southeastern range. The pine-feeding larvae are green and strikingly different in appearance from the hardwood-feeding form.
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.
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage across the southern and central range this species occupies.
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.
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage. This is one of the giant silkmoths whose southern populations are strongly associated with the upland oak-pine woods southern red oak helps form.
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 larvae feed on oak foliage through the summer, alongside the many hairstreaks, duskywings and underwing moths that use Quercus as a host.
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.
Imperial moth larvae feed on oak foliage alongside the hairstreaks and duskywings that also use Quercus. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center specifically lists white M hairstreak and Horace's duskywing as willow oak larval users.
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.
Sources et citations
Citer cette page
Utilisez cette citation pour la fiche faune Plotwright. Utilisez les fiches de sources ci-dessous pour explorer les références ayant alimenté sa taxonomie, sa répartition, sa conservation, ses plantes hôtes, son alimentation et son habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Papillon impérial (Eacles imperialis). Retrieved 2026, August 20, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/imperial-moth
Sources utilisées pour cette fiche
Cette fiche est élaborée à partir des sources ci-dessous.
BAMONA: Imperial moth
Species profile for range, brood timing, adult non-feeding status, and broad woody host list.
MDC Field Guide: Imperial moth
State agency species account used for identification detail, larval and adult food, and life-cycle timing. Missouri-scoped, so it is not cited for continental range.
Wikipedia: Eacles imperialis
Corroborating reference for adult size, range decline context, light-pollution pressure, and larval host trees.
GBIF: Eacles imperialis
GBIF backbone key 1865107 is an exact accepted match for the imperial moth Eacles imperialis in family Saturniidae.
iNaturalist: Eacles imperialis
iNaturalist taxon 81590 is the active species record for Eacles imperialis with observation range data.