Imperial Moth Ecloses

One of our imperial moths (Eacles imperialis) sporadically eclosed today. Stock originated as eggs from New York, August 2016.

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Well, this is pretty ridiculous. Three months after taking out of cold storage, one of these imperial moths finally decided to come out. The rest don't even look close. We have no idea why this one only eclosed until now and why the others still haven't - they should've came out long ago. True that they normally eclose in the summer naturally, but in captivity they should eclose only about a month after overwintering. The humidity shoudn't have been the problem, as we sprayed them regularly upon taking them out. W

It looks like we will have to forget about pairings and eggs now because we have no idea when the rest of the few pupae will eclose, but at least we have this nice looking male to look at. It is definitely not considered large for this species, as the larvae were reared on pine and produced small pupae, but the patterns are still nice. The yellow is very flashy, and the brown patterns and freckles add a nice touch. The underside is just yellow. Like other Saturniids, there is a spot at the center of each fore and hind wing, though it is not very developed and inconspicuous on this species, being small and brown. The wing shape is quite broad, and the forewings are pointy at the tip unlike silk moths which are usually rounded The body is tapered, and the eyes head is quite small, with small eyes hardly visible through the dense scales. 

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​Authors
Alan Liang

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