Saturnia spini

Saturnia spini
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Saturnia
Species: S. spini
Binomial name
Saturnia spini
(Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775)
Synonyms
  • Saturnia media Esper, 1782
  • Saturnia obsoleta Tutt, 1902
  • Saturnia fusca Schultz, 1909
  • Saturnia oblitescens Schultz, 1909
  • Saturnia microphthalmica Schultz, 1909
  • Saturnia subhyalina Schultz, 1909
  • Saturnia contigua Schultz, 1909
  • Saturnia continua Jordan, 1911
  • Saturnia infumata Gschwandner, 1919
  • Saturnia conjuncta Gschwandner, 1919
  • Saturnia dilutibasis Gschwandner, 1919
  • Saturnia albescens Gschwandner, 1919
  • Saturnia lurida Gschwandner, 1923

The Sloe Emperor Moth (Saturnia spini) is a moth of the Saturniidae family. It is found from eastern Austria and Poland across eastern and south-eastern Europe to Greece, Turkey, Armenia, Ukraine, Crimea and Kazakhstan.

It has a wingspan of 55-110 mm. Adults are on wing from April to June in one generation.

The larvae feed on Prunus spinosa, Rosa, Crataegus, Ulmus, Alnus, Salix, Populus and Malus in Europe. In Turkey and the Crimea it shows a preference for spiny members of the rose family.

There are no subspecies, although the population from the Ukraine and southern Russia is sometimes treated as a subspecies, Saturnia spini haversoni Watson, 1911.

External links