EACLES IMPERIALIS OSLARI
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

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DISTRIBUTON:

Tuskes, Tuttle, and Collins elevate oslari (wingspan 11-14 cm) 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 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.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

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

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.

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:

Yellow, translucent eggs are deposited singly or in small clusters of up to six. 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.

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

Listed below are the primary and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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 straciflua 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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