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Saturnia pavoniella is a moth of the family Saturniidae. It is found in the alpine regions of Austria, Italy (including Sicily) and the Czech Republic across south-eastern Europe to northern Turkey and the Caucasus. It is possibly also present in south-eastern France.
The wingspan is 45–70 mm (1.8–2.8 in) for males and 50–95 mm (2.0–3.7 in) for females. Adults are on wing from February to June. In northern Greece they are mainly found in May.
The larvae feed on a wide variety of plants. Recorded foodplants include Rubus, Prunus spinosa, Crataegus, Quercus, Carpinus, Betula, Salix, Erica, Vaccinium, Spiraea, Filipendula, Lythrum, Potentilla, Rosa, Callun.
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Flight and Behavior: Adults emerge in early spring (March to May) depending on the region's latitude. Males are diurnal (day-flying) and actively search for females, whereas females fly mainly at night.
Life Cycle: A female will pair several times and lay 200 to 250 spherical, pale eggs. After 10 to 15 days, they hatch into L1 larvae.
Larval Stages: Caterpillars progress through stages—starting black and bristly, developing orange spots in later stages, and becoming vibrant green with yellow/orange tubercles in their final stage. They can exceed 95 mm in length and feed on host plants like apple, plum, blackthorn, bramble, and willow.
Pupation: Fully grown caterpillars spin hard, pear-shaped, brown cocoons between the branches of host plants. The species overwinters entirely in this pupa stage.
Comparison: While similar to the closely related Northern or Small Emperor Moth (Saturnia pavonia), the Ligurian Emperor is slightly larger and males feature a much paler band on the hindwing's inner margin. The progeny of any hybrids between the two are infertile.
