Emperor gum moth
The emperor gum moth is a huge, furry, reddish brown moth with four big eye spots on its wings. Its caterpillar is just as fancy: bright green or blue with a yellow stripe and little red and blue bumps. It lives on gum trees in Australia.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
How big is Emperor gum moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
The caterpillar changes colour every time it sheds its skin, five times in all.
Its cocoon dries into a hard, waterproof shell with tiny air holes in the side.
To get out, the moth spits out juice to soften the cocoon and cuts a hole with little hooks on its wings.
Squeezing out of the cocoon is important. It helps the wings open up and dry properly.
A grown-up moth lives only a couple of weeks.
Most asked questions about Emperor gum moth
?Is the emperor gum moth caterpillar poisonous?
No. Its hairs are not poisonous and it does not sting.
?What does the emperor gum moth eat?
The caterpillars eat young gum tree leaves. The grown-up moth does not eat at all.
?How big is the emperor gum moth?
Its wings are 12 to 15 centimetres across, and females are usually bigger than males.
Myth buster
Myth: The hairy caterpillar of the emperor gum moth stings.
Truth: No. Its little hairs are not poisonous and do not sting.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Opodiphthera eucalypti
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Saturniidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Opodiphthera eucalypti (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Chris Noble. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Six-spotted tiger beetle
Comma butterfly
Red-headed centipede
Snow springtail
Asian needle ant
Evening cicada