68.001 BF1643

Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia

(Linnaeus, 1758)

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Wingspan 40-60 mm.

The spectacular Emperor moth is Britain's only resident member of the Saturniidae family. It is reasonably common over much of Britain, occupying moorland and open country.

The males, which have bright orange hindwings, fly during the daytime in search of the greyer females, which fly at night. Both sexes are on the wing in April and May.

The fully grown caterpillar is green with black hoops containing yellow wart-like spots, and feeds on moorland plants such as heather (Calluna) and bramble (Rubus).