Lesser Purple Emperor

Apatura ilia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae

Also called: Purple Emperor

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Lesser Purple Emperor
Photo: purperlibel, CC BY-SA

The Lesser Purple Emperor is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 55 to 70 mm, the male being larger than the female. It lives across much of Europe and into the Palearctic, favoring habitats similar to those of the Purple Emperor. Caterpillars feed on poplars and willows, while adults visit the same plants for nectar.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The upper wing surface is dark brown with metallic blue-violet tones in males, a clear postdiscal band on the hindwing, and several light spots on the forewing. Both sexes have an orange eye-spot on the forewing that helps tell it apart from the similar Apatura iris.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Females have a wingspan of 55 to 60 mm, while males are larger at 60 to 70 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

Its habits match those of Apatura iris and it is found in Germany, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Austria, the Balkans, Hungary, Finland, the Baltic region of Russia, and the Volga districts of South Russia.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Caterpillars eat poplar species (Populus tremula, P. pyramidalis) and various willows such as Salix caprea, S. viminalis, and S. rosmarinifolia.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

The greenish pupa has a dorsal ridge and yellow-edged wing cases and head processes.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

The species is native to most of Europe and extends eastward across the Palearctic.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Both the Lesser Purple Emperor and the Purple Emperor have a similar orange eye-spot on the hindwing. The name comes from its resemblance to the larger Purple Emperor butterfly.

Source: Wikipedia

Questions people ask

Are they a problem for gardens or trees?

They feed on poplars and willows, but the sources do not say they cause damage.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Nymphalidae)

MonarchMonarchDanaus plexippusRed AdmiralRed AdmiralVanessa atalantaPainted LadyPainted LadyVanessa carduiGulf FritillaryGulf FritillaryDione vanillaeSpeckled WoodSpeckled WoodPararge aegeriaEuropean Peacock ButterflyEuropean Peacock ButterflyAglais io

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apatura_ilia

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

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