Eacles imperialis cacicus
ee-UH-kleesMim-PEER-ee-al-ihsMkah-SEE-kus
(Boisduval, 1868) Basilona

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, Peru, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841 Genus: Eacles, Hübner, [1819]

DISTRIBUTION:

Eacles imperialis cacicus (wingspan: males: 85-122mm; females: 113-155mm) flies in
Brazil: Para, Paraiba, Ceara (SB), Alagoas, Pernambuco, Goias (TM), Mato Grosso, Amazonas;
Venezuela: Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, Tachira, Guarico, Bolivar, Territorio Federal Amazonas;
Trinidad;
Guyana;
Suriname: Brokopondo: Brownsberg;
French Guiana: Kaw;
eastern Colombia: Caqueta and probably Amazonas and Putamayo;
Ecuador: Napo, Pastaza ?, Morona-Santiago, Zamora-Chinchipe ?, Sucumbios (LTR), Tungurahua (LTR) and Orellana (LTR);
Peru: Amazonas (LTR), Huanuco, Junin, Madre de Dios, Ucayali (VI), and probably San Martin and Pasco (Pasco: yes, Frank Steiger);
Bolivia: La Paz; Cochabamba; and Sante Cruz; and in
Argentina: Misiones and maybe Neuquen.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, Niquelandia, Goias, Brazil,
January 3, 2017, courtesy of Tabata Martins,
identfication and apical repair by Bill Oehlke.

The male resembles anchicayensis, but it is smaller and outer margin is lighter, more toward lilac than dark purple. The accessory ocellus is smaller than in other subspecies.

Possibly this species does not fly so far south into northeastern Argentina. It may be replaced in southeastern Brazil and eastern Argentina by the very similar subspecies, Eacles imperialis magnifica, which to my knowledge has less of the silvery-lilac suffusions in the male forewing terminal area.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, Brownsberg, Brokopondo, Suriname,
July 8, 2011, courtesy of Johan van't Bosch.

Tim Loeffler provides very nice verso images of two males from French Guiana.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male (verso) 99mm,
French Guiana, courtesy of Tim Loeffler.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male (verso) 102mm,
French Guiana, courtesy of Tim Loeffler.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, 99mm,
French Guiana, courtesy of Tim Loeffler.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, 102mm,
French Guiana, courtesy of Tim Loeffler.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in August.

Vladimir Izersky reports a November flight in Peru. Johan van't Bosch reports a July 8, 2011, flight in Brownsberg, Brokopondo, Suriname. Lars Andersen reports a February flight in Yungas, La Paz, Bolivia. Sylvia Barroso reports a July flight in Ceara, Brazil. Geraldo Lucas reports a late April flight in Para, Brazil.

Eaclies imperialis cacicus male, Taipiplaya, Yungas, La Paz, Bolivia,
February 19, 2006, photo by Peter Møllmann, via Lars Andersen.

Visit Eacles imperialis cacicus males, Atalaya, Ucayali, 350m and Rio Tambo, Junin, Peru, 550m, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky.

Visit Eacles imperialis cacicus males, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil, July 2016, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso.

Visit Eacles imperialis cacicus male, Para, Brazil, April 29, 2016, courtesy of Geraldo Lukas.

Eggs are most frequently deposited on Mangifera indica (Mango) and Erythrina crista-galli (Cockspur coral tree).

Females are not as ornately decorted as the males of this species.

Eacles imperialis magnifica female, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
February 2009, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

I have posted the female from Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as Eacles imperialis magnifica. There is probably very little to separate these two subspecies.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females mate around 10:00 P.M., and the pair remains coupled until the following evening. Upon separation, the females begin their ovipositing flights.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male courtesy of Entomo Service

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Yellow, translucent eggs are deposited singly or in small clusters of up to six. The larvae become visible through the egg shells a day or so before emerging. Larvae are solitary in their feeding habits and may exhibit a basic brown or green colouration after the third instar.

Lengths of up to 11 cm are attained at larval maturity at which time larvae descend trees to pupate in underground chambers. To the right a third instar larva exhibits common green colouration.

Larvae are an unusual black in early instars. Images courtesy of Leroy Simon. Pupae should be stored under cool, but above freezing temperatures, and sprinkling with water a few times a week in June encourages July eclosions.

Steve Ife has sent a series of beautiful images of fourth and fifth instar larvae and an inflating female at Eacles imperialis cacicus. Steve had success rearing this species on willow.

Eacles imperialis cacicus male, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Eacles imperialis cacicus female, French Guiana, courtesy of Carlot Didier.

Visit Eacles imperialis cacicus males, female and larvae, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Eacles imperialis cacicus larvae on mangueira, Mangifera indica, Alto Xingu, Mato Grosso, Brazil, courtesy of Douglas Floresta;
male, Niquelandia, Goias, Brazil courtesy of Tabata Martins;
females, Tiangua, Ceara, Brazil, courtesy of Sylvia Barroso.

Eacles imperialis cacicus final instar, Pasco, Peru,
November 25, 2017, courtesy of Frank Steiger.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Erythrina crista-galli..... Mangifera indica Quercus ilex Pistacia lentiscus Salix

Cockspur coral tree Mango Holly/Holm oak Mastic tree Willow

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The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Eacles", but it may be a combination of "Ea", the Greek word for gods and goddesses and the Greek suffix "cles", meaning 'glory of'.

The species name "imperialis" is probably for the majestic appearance and colouration of this moth.

The subspecies name "cacicus" is probably from the Spanish name, 'casique', for a local political boss. There seems to be a trend to have named E. imperialis subspecies after politial or military rankings: decoris (decorated), magnifica (powerful, magnificent), nobilis (noble).