The imperial moth has evolved to look like rotting leaves. The cocoon is an outer rapping made by the caterpillar using silk produced from glands in the caterpillar… The thought of putting a newly fertile female in a paper bag for a few days may sound cruel, but since her role is to reproduce, I think we are doing her a favor. A chryalis and pupa are two words for the same thing, the third stage in the life of a butterfly or moth (the four stages are egg, caterpillar, pupa, and adult moth or butterfly). The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. Only the eastern U.S. population, Eacles imperialis imperialis (Drury), will be considered here and, for simplicity it will be referred to as the imperial moth or Eacles imperialis. Thanks. A couple of months ago, a fellow MOSI staff member brought us a gorgeous moth she’d found in her yard. The Imperial Moth, Eacles imperialis is one of our beautiful giant silk moths. Food depends on the subspecies. The adult moth actually does have huge brown eyes. Some subspecies feed on leaves of deciduous trees and some feed on the needles of conifers. (Its true eyespots are tiny and not easily seen). Megalopygidae, known to mortals as the Flannel Moths are one of the most interesting, amazing and talked about moth family made up from 11 known species. Picture of Luna Moth Caterpillar. I have heard that this species is much harder to raise than species like Polyphemus and Cecropia. Curious what it might be. You can raise an Imperial Moth Caterpillar to an adult by keeping it in a small terrarium with ventilation. I have a female Imperial moth pupa that has been in my fridge all winter. Whether you’re a seasoned hobbyist or doing your first time, you will take sheer pleasure in raising Luna moth caterpillars. Females lay eggs at dusk singly or in groups of 2-5 on both surfaces of host plant leaves. From caterpillars to hatching as moths, these insect look like tiny fur-balls, hence the nickname of their larvae "puss caterpillars". The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks, and the caterpillars are solitary feeders. Within a few weeks, they had hatched, providing us with about 50 tiny Imperial moth larvae to raise. Io moth caterpillar. 6 … The female has more yellow wings than the male. Examples of Eacles imperialis variation. large moth Location: Martha’sVineyard, MA July 25, 2011 7:22 am Hi, Never saw this big moth around before. Imperial moth, Eacles imperialis (Drury), fifth instar larval (prepupal) exuviae after emergence of pupa (exuviae stretched for photography). Sphinx moths are so cool. Dear Ashley, This is an Imperial Moth Caterpillar.. Normally, our “location” field is used to identify a city, state, country or continent where the critter was sighted. Luna moths, blessed with attractive eyespots on the wings, are a striking lime green in colour. Last Word on the Imperial Moth Caterpillars. Eacles imperialis, the imperial moth, is a Nearctic member of the family Saturniidae and subfamily Ceratocampinae. Here it … I told my friends that I definitely wanted to raise and release this guy, so they delivered it to me the next day. As fascinating as it has been to watch the Imperial Moth caterpillars eat and grow into gigantic poop machines, the time finally came to put them outside where they belong. After a little investigating I determined that it was an Imperial Moth caterpillar, one of the family of impressive giant silk moths that occurs here. What a descriptive appellation for this moth. Walnut Caterpillar Datana major larva Azalea Caterpillar Datana ministra larva Yellow-necked Caterpillar Deidamia inscriptum larva Lettered Sphinx Diphthera festiva Hieroglyphic Moth Dryocampa rubicunda larva Rosy Maple Moth Eacles imperialis larva Imperial Moth Ellida caniplaga larva Linden Prominent Hello everyone. You need to feed it until it is ready for pupation. Signature: paperboy Dear paperboy, This stunning creature is a male Imperial Moth.