68.001 : 1643 : 6794
Saturniidae : Saturniinae

Emperor Moth

SATURNIA (Eudia) pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Picture
Kind permission - © Maurice Pugh
Life Cycle Guide
Picture
Description

 Wingspan: Male - 40-55mm Female - 50-65mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - excluding Southern Europe - ( Azores,Balearic Is.,Bulgaria,Canary Is.,Corsica - doubtful,Crete,Croatia,Cyprus,Greece,Hungary, Italy,Madeira,Malta,Romania,Sicily,Sardinia - Doubtful & Slovenia) - east to western Russia - Alps & southern France replaced by Saturnia (Eudia) pavoniella (Scopoli 1763)
UK Distribution: Common over much of Great Britain
UK Conservation Status -
  • Common = > 300 10km squares
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Species Name -
  • Phalaena pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Species - Saturnia
  • Bombyx pyri Schiffermüller, 1775
Type Locality -
  • Europe
Flight Period: April - early June
Habitat: Heathland : Marshes : Bogs : Woodland Rides : Sand-dunes
Similar Species -
  • Saturnia (Eudia) pavoniella (Scopoli 1763) - southern Europe to Balkans only
Larva: The 65mm final instar larva is bright green with black band around middle part of each segment with tubercules that vary in colour from white normally through to yellow or pink with short black bristles emitting from each one.Early stage instars are black with orange and light yellowish-green markings. The larva is polyphageous feeding on a wide range of plant species. (see below)
Pupa: The pupa overwinters in a tough ginger coloured cocoons which are often found high on heather.
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: The Emperor Moth is a very special species not only from being the only moth in the Saturniidae family,and its enormous size but from the spectacular markings and colouration making it an unmistakable moth. It is also thankfully a fairly common moth being quite well spread across Great Britain. Specimens seen in the northern sites are generally more intensely coloured,with a bluish female seen on occasions.
A rare form of this moth is S.p.f.obsoleta Tutt, 1902 which has no eye spots.
Males can be attracted using a produced pheromone usually recommended use in mid to late afternoon, and although these male moths never stop flying by this method it is fascinating to see the beautiful bright orange hindwing,the speed of flight, and to observe how quick they pick up the pheromone even when moved from plant to plant.
Male and female antennae are pectinate but in the case of the female only a short way along the length.
Photo Gallery
Ova
Larva
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
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Type Species - SATURNIA

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Similar Species :
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Bombycoidea
Saturniidae
Saturniinae
Saturniini
SATURNIA Schrank, 1802
Eudia Seitz, 1911
Saturnia (Eudia) pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Bombyx pyri Schiffermüller, 1775
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PHALAENA pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Eudia pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Phalaena pavonia Linnaeus, 1758
= minor Linnaeus, 1758
= Bombyx carpini Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775
= alpina Favre, 1897
= borealis Rangnow, 1935
= lapponica Lingonblad, 1936
= lappmarchica Bryk, 1948
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Phalaena pavonia pavonia (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.496 - n.6
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Europe
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S.p. josephinae (Schawerda 1924) - hindwings slightly tinged with fawn - Southern Spain
S.p.pavonia (LInnaeus, 1758) - Nominate Subsecies
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S.p.f.rosacea Newham, 1891 - suffused with pink in part normally white
S.p.f.alpina Favre, 1897 - Lapland & Alps - smaller scales
S.p.f.obsoleta Tutt, 1902 - no eye spots
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Saturnia (Eudia) pavoniella (Scopoli 1763) - southern Europe to Balkans only.Not to be confused with above.