The Emperor Butterfly

What do they look like?

• Adults have dark brown wings with white bands and spots, and a small orange ring on each of the hindwings.

• Males have a wingspan of 7–8 centimetres but females are slightly larger at 8-9cm.

Where do they start?

• The larvae (caterpillars) are green with white and yellow markings, and have two large ‘horns’ at the front end and a smaller one at the back end.

Where do they live?

• They spend most of their lives in the tree canopy, favouring dense and mature woodlands.

• Occasionally females come down to lay eggs and both also come down to drink from puddles or to eat.

Diet

• Emperor butterflies are different to most butterflies in what they eat.

• Instead of eating flowers, they eat the honeydew secreted by leaves, sap oozing from oak trees, and on dung and animal carcasses.

Laying Eggs

• Female butterflies lay eggs on the underside of the sallow leaf.

• When they hatch, the Caterpillars are camouflagedagainst predators.

Life cycle