Bug FAQPavon Emperor
Doxocopa pavon · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Nymphalidae
It lives in tropical and subtropical forests from about 200 to 1,000 m altitude across a range that stretches from Bolivia and Paraguay up to northern Mexico, including Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Adults feed on nectar from flowers such as bocotes (Cordia) and rushfoils (Croton), while the larvae eat hackberry leaves.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The wings are generally brown with two white bands across the middle and an orange patch on the forewing tips. Males show an iridescent blue-purple sheen on the upper wing surfaces.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on hackberry leaves. Adults sip nectar, especially from bocotes (Cordia) and rushfoils (Croton).
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Caterpillars are green with yellow-white side dots and faint yellow-white blotches on the back. The chrysalis mimics a leaf for camouflage.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The subspecies D. p. theodora is limited to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Female Pavon Emperors also look similar to both sexes of some Adelpha species.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 2 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas, New Mexico.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I tell a Pavon Emperor apart from a silver emperor?
The Pavon Emperor has a plain pale-brown underside, while the silver emperor’s wing undersides are silvery.
Source: Wikipedia
What do Pavon Emperor caterpillars look like?
They are green with yellow-white dots along the sides and faint yellow-white blotches on the back.
Source: Wikipedia
Where might I find a Pavon Emperor?
In tropical and subtropical forests, including rainforests, from about 200 to 1,000 m elevation.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Nymphalidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doxocopa_pavon
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-25 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-25.