DISTRIBUTION:

Eacles imperialis pini (wingspan: males: 85-103mm; females: 100-105mm), a subspecies of Eacles imperialis, fly in pine forests in southern Quebec and Ontario and across the northern Great Lakes Basin in the U.S. The adult moths can be distinguished from nominate imperialis by their smaller size, well defined post-medial lines on the ventral surfaces of both fore and hindwings, and the more generous sprinkling of black or purple dots on all wings. See Jonathon Tubbs' comparison.

Eacles imperialis pini male, copyright protected, courtesy of Tim Dyson.

Eacles imperialis pini male, copyright protected, courtesy of Tim Dyson.

Ralph Clark reports recent findings of pini larvae in upstate New York: "The first was on the second tee of the Port Kent golf course, Port Kent, NY, which is in a pine forest. I allowed that one to metamorph and confirmed its identity. That one I have as a mounted specimen. The next year I caught a second one as I walked from the 17th green to the 18th tee of the Adirondack Golf Course in Peru, New York. The two courses are about 10 miles from each other."

Ryan Saint Laurent advised me of an Eacles imperialis larva posted on BAMONA for Grand Isle County in northern Vermont. The larva has white abdominal scoli, indicating subspecies pini. The larva was feeding on a Juniperus species.

On August 22, 2012, Denise Switzer sent me the Eacles imperialis pini larval image to the right. The larva was spotted in Forestport, Oneida County, New York, August 22, 2012. This is a first report of pini so far south in New York. I suspect that previous reports of Eacles imperialis imperialis in nearby and slightly more northern and northwesterly counties of Lewis and Jefferson are actually of subspecies pini.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths fly as a single brood from mid June to early August with the majority on the wing in early July. Larvae feed almost exclusively on conifers especially red pine and eastern white pine.

Eacles imperialis pini, Durham Region, Ontario,
August 5, 2013, courtesy of non-member-Helen Martyn.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adults will pair readily in cages, and calling females successfully attract males even on very cold nights. Both males and females come in to lights. This subspecies will pair with nominate imperialis producing fully viable adult males and females.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Larvae, which become visible through egg shells just before hatching, emerge from large, bright yellow, translucent eggs in approximately fourteen days, fewer days if kept warm. It is a good idea to have only a few eggs in each hatching container as I believe hatching emanations/gases from an emerged egg may be toxic to unhatched eggs in a closed container. First instar, Peterborough, Ontario, courtesy of Tim Dyson.

Larval spines are extremely well developed in the early instars and diminish, relative to body size, in the last two instars when larvae approach 8cm. Coloration varies from brown to green with black banding on the sides.

Pupae have an elongated, pointed cremaster and tend to be very active.

There is considerable variation in the amount of black on the upper and lower wings as evidenced in the following two specimens:

Eacles imperialis pini male (very dark), southeastern Canada, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Eacles imperialis pini female (very dark), southeastern Canada, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Eacles imperialis pini fourth instar, southeastern Canada, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Eacles imperialis pini courtesy of Bill Oehlke.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant and possible alternate food plants listed in Tuskes, Tuttle, and Collins' The Wild Silk Moths of North America. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Juniperus species Picea glauca Pinus banksiana Pinus resinosa Pinus strobus Pinus sylvestis Quercus palustis Sapindus saponaria.....

Juniper species White spruce Jack pine Red pine Eastern white pine Scotch pine Pin oak Wingleaf soapberry

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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 "pini" means 'of the pine', as this species is found in pine forests, pine being the primary larval host.

Ken Hornick sent an image of a mature larva from CENTRAL ONTARIO, CANADA, MUSKOKA AREA, August 10, 2007