Nikon 7900 pocket camera, hand-held image. This is another shot of the large Imperial Moth I found recently. This shows the top of the wings (which have sustained some damage). As I mentioned in yesterdays post, this individual was near the end of its life and very docile with no energy left to do much more than just holding onto whatever was within touching distance. I doubt that it survived the night. Classification: Kingdom Animalia (Animals) Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods) Class Insecta (Insects) Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths) No Taxon (Moths) Superfamily Bombycoidea Family Saturniidae (Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths) Subfamily Ceratocampinae (Royal Moths) Genus Eacles Species imperialis (Imperial Moth) Size: adult wingspan 80-174 mm; female larger than male larva length to 100 mm Identification: Adult: wings yellow, variably spotted and shaded with pinkish, orangish, or purplish-brown; male more heavily marked than female, especially in the south Larva: two variable color forms - green form varies from light green to dark green; brown form varies from orangish to chocolate brown to almost black; pair of spined dorsal tubercles on second and third thoracic segments, and sometimes first few abdominal segments; spiracles prominent, yellowish-white, ringed with black; many long whitish hairs dorsally, and shorter less dense ones laterally; short middorsal horn on ninth and tenth abdominal segments; prolegs larger on tenth segment than on other segments Range: eastern United States plus Ontario and Quebec Habitat: deciduous, mixed, and coniferous forests; adults are nocturnal and come to light Food: Larvae feed on leaves of Bald Cypress, basswood, birch, cedar, elm, hickory, Honeylocust, maple, oak, pine, Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), sycamore, walnut. Adults do not feed. Life Cycle: Large yellow eggs are laid singly or in groups of 2-5 on both surfaces of host leaves, and take two weeks to hatch. Larvae are solitary feeders. Pupation occurs in underground burrows. It over winters in the soil, as a pupa. Adults emerge before sunrise and mate after midnight the next day. One generation per year in the north; one or two generations in the south Thanks to those who take the time to comment. Lee