Bug FAQPine Emperor
Nudaurelia cytherea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Saturniidae
Also called: Pine Emperor Moth, Pine tree emperor moth
Source: Wikipedia
Adult moths have a wingspan of about 125 to 150 mm and a silky, hairy body around 50 mm long, while larvae display bright blue, green and yellow spots on a maroon background after the second moult. Eggs are small and smooth, larvae pass through six moults and stay gregarious until the second moult, then pupate for 5 to 6 months before emerging as adults that live only a few days to mate and lay eggs.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Adult moths typically have a wingspan of 125 to 150 mm and a body length of about 50 mm, covered densely in silky hair.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
Biological control using insect viruses has been valued because they have few ecosystem side effects.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
The larvae feed on many plants and readily added pine needles to their diet, causing widespread defoliation in South African pine plantations in the 1930s.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae eat a wide range of plants, especially introduced pines, but also native species such as Euclea, Rapanea, Protea, Rhus, Watsonia and Myrica.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs are about 2 mm long, smooth and near-ellipsoidal; larvae undergo six moults and are highly gregarious until the end of the second moult. The pupal stage lasts five to six months, and adult moths survive only a few days to reproduce.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Egg incubation takes about 18 to 19 days for midsummer eggs and 21 to 28 days for winter eggs.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Nudaurelia cytherea is a southern African member of the Saturniidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The genus Nudaurelia is closely related to the genera Gonimbrasia and Imbrasia.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I control pine emperor caterpillars?
Introducing pigs to locate and dig up pupae or using specific insect viruses are effective control methods.
Source: Wikipedia
How long do adult pine emperor moths live?
Adults survive only a few days, just enough to mate and for females to lay about 200 eggs.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Saturniidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nudaurelia_cytherea
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.