Eacles imperialis oslari
ee-UH-kleesMim-PEER-ee-al-ihsMOS-ler-eye
W. Rothschild, 1907

Eacles imperialis oslari courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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

MIDI MUSIC "WhatAWonderfulWorld" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Tuskes, Tuttle, and Collins elevate oslari (wingspan: males: 93-116mm; females: 113-133mm) to full species status based upon what seems to be a difference in pheromones compared to Eacles imperialis imperialis. Oslari is primarily a Mexican species (Sonora) sometimes found in southern Arizona.

Oslari have a distinguishing and pronounced brownish line on the undersurface of all wings, from the apex to the inner margin on the forewing and from the leading edge to the anal area of the lower wing.

Eacles oslari female, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Eacles oslari female, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Leroy indicates the orangey brown on ventral abdomen and left wing outer surfaces is dirt and not colouration of moth. he writes, "Here are some recent moth images. The Eacles oslari shows the dark medial line on the underside that is lacking on regular Eacles imperialis."

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Oslari fly from early July to mid August, and eggs are most frequently deposited on Mexican blue oak (Quercus oblongifolia), Emory oak (Quercus emoryi), and Western soapberry (Sapindus saponaria drummondi).

Male courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Eacles oslari male morphs, Harshaw Canyon, Arizona, July 22, 2009, courtesy of Derek Bridgehouse.

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.

Copulating pair courtesy of Jan Hellert.

Females (below) have less gray/purple than the male depicted above. The yellow adult form is more common than the orange-brown form.

Both sexes come in to lights.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Relatively large, yellow, translucent eggs are deposited singly or in small clusters of up to six. As the larvae develop they can be seen through the egg shells. Eacles oslari eggs, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk, Harshaw, Arizona, 02 August 2003.

Larvae are solitary in their feeding habits and may exhibit a basic brown or green colouration after the third instar. Image courtesy of Leroy Simon. Visit Eacles oslari male, female, second, fourth and fifth instars, Arizona, courtesy of Leroy Simon. Visit Eacles oslari, second, third and fifth instars, Arizona, courtesy of Steve Ife.

Lengths of up to 11 cm are attained at larval maturity at which time larvae descend trees to pupate in underground chambers. Pupae should be stored under cool , but above freezing temperatures, and sprinkling with water a few times a week in June encourages July eclosions.

Photo courtesy of Chris Conlan

Eacles oslari male copyright Kirby Wolfe

Eacles oslari pupa, courtesy/copyright Joel Szymczyk.

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.

Arctostaphylos patula Juglans Liquidambar styraciflua Pinus strobus Quercus chihuahuaensis..... Quercus emoryi Quercus gambelli Quercus oblongifolia..... Quercus robur Quercus rubra Rhus glabra Rhus laurina Rhus typhina Robinia neomexicana Schinus molle

Manzanita Walnut Sweetgum Eastern white pine Chihuahua oak Emory oak Gambel oak Mexican blue oak English oak Northern red oak Smooth sumac Laurel sumac Staghorn sumac New Mexico black locust California peppertree

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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 "oslari" is honourific for Ernest John Oslar who was a contemporary commercial collector. He provided many specimens collected in the western U.S. late 1800's to early 1900's.

Oslar was also very interested in birds and probably collected them as well.