Soil-pupating
Guides
Ceratocampinae
Royal Moths
Ceratocampinae is a subfamily of giant silk moths in the family Saturniidae, commonly known as royal moths. Species are found exclusively in the New World. The subfamily includes large, strikingly colored moths with reduced or vestigial adult mouthparts; adults do not feed. Larvae are typically large and often bear prominent horns or tubercles, though they are harmless despite their fierce appearance. Representative genera include Citheronia (regal moth), Eacles (imperial moth), and Anisota.
Eacles imperialis
Imperial Moth
Eacles imperialis is a large saturniid moth with the widest geographic range in its genus, extending from southern Canada to Argentina. Adults display substantial color variation, with yellow base coloration and variable red, brown, and purple markings. The species has experienced regional decline in the northeastern United States, with some New England populations extirpated, while remaining common in the Mid-Atlantic, Appalachia, and Deep South.
Eacles imperialis imperialis
Imperial moth
Eacles imperialis imperialis is a subspecies of giant silk moth in the family Saturniidae. Adults are large, colorful moths with yellow and purple-brown patterning. Unlike many related silk moths, larvae do not spin silk cocoons; instead they burrow into soil to pupate. The subspecies has experienced significant population declines in parts of New England, including extirpation from Connecticut, though it remains widespread across much of North, Central, and South America.
Proserpinus flavofasciata
yellow-banded day sphinx
Proserpinus flavofasciata, commonly known as the yellow-banded day sphinx, is a day-flying hawk moth native to North America. The adult is a bumblebee mimic with distinctive black and yellow coloration. The species inhabits boreal and mountain forest edges and clearings, with a distribution spanning Canada from Alaska to the Maritimes and southward to Maine and Massachusetts. Larvae feed on Epilobium and Rubus species, and the species overwinters as a pupa in soil.