Imperial Moth (Eacles imperialis)

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Order:	Lepidoptera (le-pid-OP-ter-a) (Info)
Family:	Saturniidae (sa-tur-NEE-ih-dee) (Info)
Genus:	Eacles
Species:	imperialis

Regional

This bug has been reportedly found in the following regions:

Mc Calla, Alabama

Malvern, Arkansas

Beverly Hills, Florida

Bonita Springs, Florida

Melbourne, Florida

Palm Bay, Florida

Winter Garden, Florida

Winter Springs, Florida

Alpharetta, Georgia

Barnesville, Georgia

Cartersville, Georgia

Oxford, Georgia

Alexis, Illinois

Barrington, Illinois

Carpentersville, Illinois

Edwardsville, Illinois

Momence, Illinois

Spring Grove, Illinois

Ames, Iowa

Bettendorf, Iowa

Burlington, Iowa

Nichols, Iowa

Urbandale, Iowa

West Des Moines, Iowa

Benton, Kentucky

Greenville, Kentucky

Thibodaux, Louisiana

Fallston, Maryland

Pasadena, Maryland

Randallstown, Maryland

West Tisbury, Massachusetts

Kansas City, Missouri

Lathrop, Missouri

Blairstown, New Jersey

Gouverneur, New York

Apex, North Carolina

Elizabeth City, North Carolina

Newland, North Carolina

Glouster, Ohio

Williamsburg, Ohio

Talihina, Oklahoma

Alexandria, Pennsylvania

Bath, Pennsylvania

Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

Lititz, Pennsylvania

Austin, Texas (3 reports)

College Station, Texas

Converse, Texas

Dickinson, Texas

Kempner, Texas

League City, Texas

New Caney, Texas

San Antonio, Texas (2 reports)

Victoria, Texas

Chesapeake, Virginia

Fredericksburg, Virginia

Leesburg, Virginia

Lynchburg, Virginia

Nokesville, Virginia

Poynette, Wisconsin

Salem, Wisconsin

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Members' Notes:

positives

neutrals

negatives

Rating	Content
Neutral	On Aug 10, 2017, Pussycat69 from Elkins Park, PA wrote: A female Imperial Moth let me pick her up from my porch walkway today. First time I have seen one! Philadelphia, PA August 10, 2017
Positive	On Apr 4, 2016, alice_penn from Spring Hill, FL wrote: just went outside and there is a Imperial moth. Very big. Thank you for pictures on your site for us to see what we find.
Positive	On Jun 13, 2015, annram from Barrington, IL wrote: Found in Tower Lakes (Barrington), IL -- June 13, 2015 in the vicinity of Colorado blue spruce and red oak trees with wings beginning to grow. Within a couple of hours, it had a much shorter caterpillar body, but giant wings - 5" across. Going by pictures on the internet, this is female.
Positive	On Jul 19, 2014, finisht from Poynette, WI wrote: I found this Male Imperial Moth hanging out on my bricks for several days. I have never seen one like it before, So I looked it up. He is Beautiful!
Positive	On Jul 11, 2012, 2012Susan from Carpentersville, IL wrote: I found this beautiful moth on my front porch this morning and it is still there! I would like to know what kind of nest this moth uses - I understand it is a type of silkworm? I found a sack-like nest on an ornamental tree in my backyard and wonder????
Positive	On Nov 23, 2010, chrisnvictoria from Victoria, TX wrote: I found one of these little guys scootin across the sidewalk at the apartments I manage. I am going to take him home and see how he does there. I currently have 3 Wooly Bear Caterpillars that I am guessing are going to overwinter until January. Maybe this little guy will do something before then.
Positive	On Oct 29, 2009, fairydustpink89 from Winter Garden, FL wrote: I rescued an Imperial Moth about a week ago and it's now in its cacoon stage. It was a gorgeous caterpillar and, from research, will be so gorgeous as a moth. My kids (I'm a nanny) absolutely loved playing with the caterpillar, but we're releasing "Bob" the day after he comes out of his cocoon.
Positive	On Jul 5, 2009, April9024 from Kansas City, MO wrote: Most beautiful moth. I had never seen one. Found it on my back porch, so I just had to take pics. It's wingspan was approx 5".
Neutral	On Aug 3, 2008, GimpyGrandma from Lynchburg, VA wrote: This moth measured at least 6 inches from wing tip to wing tip.
Positive	On Jul 29, 2008, NayButterfly from Burlington, IA (Zone 5a) wrote: My 6 year old daughter and I found this moth just hanging out on our front porch! We were amazed at how big this moth is. It was about the size of my hand, a good 4 inches or so across and about 3 inches or so long! All the neighbors and other family members came over and took a look. We looked it up on the internet and that's when we found out it is an Imperial Moth. It stayed there for 3 days, each day it was in a different spot but still on the front porch, until it left. It was so cute, fuzzy and peaceful. None of us have ever seen one of these before, so it was just as exciting to the adults as it was for the kids!
Positive	On Jul 16, 2008, astronomy from West Des Moines, IA wrote: July 15, 2008 I was coming out of the Art Center in Des Moines, Iowa and saw this moth on the steps. The area is wooded. Our grandson put it in a jar and brought it home. We were all amazed at the wingspan and had never seen any insect like this. We looked it up on your web site and saw it matched perfectly to the imperial moth. We released it back at the Art Center for its food source. The folks at the Polk County conservation office said it was not harmful to my garden or trees.
Positive	On Jul 13, 2008, LunamothMama from Vineyard Haven, MA wrote: I was hanging laundry this afternoon and happened to look down on the ground and spy this beautiful Imperial Moth! it's wingspan is about 4" and is just a brilliant shade of yellow with dusty purple striations on the wings. I moved him carefully away from where he was, i have a 3 year old daughter and i was afraid he'd get squished.... so he is now happily hanging out on my lowbush blueberries! according to Wikipedia there is an actual colony of these moths here on Martha's Vineyard but this is the first i have seen. i will contribute a photo shortly....
Positive	On Jul 1, 2007, cash4rash from Swisher, IA wrote: June 30th, 2007 My husband and I was on our way to Keokuk, Iowa to get a load of coal in the semi bright and early Saturday morning. We stopped at a truckstop outside Ainsworth, Iowa and this moth was resting on a pole. It is HUGE and Beautiful. Never seen one before!!!!
Positive	On Jul 24, 2006, melody from Benton, KY (Zone 7a) wrote: With a wingspan that sometimes reaches 5 7/8", the Imperial Moth is one of the most striking moths in North America. It's habitat is Deuciduous and mixed forests and the catepillar feeds on broad leaved tree foliage and conferous needles. They are most commonly seen between June and August. This moth is starting to become rare in areas where there are many streetlights, as they come to the lights at night and birds eat them the next morning.