Saturnia pyri (giant emperor moth)
Identity
- Preferred Scientific Name
- Saturnia pyri ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)
- Preferred Common Name
- giant emperor moth
- Other Scientific Names
- Bombyx pyri [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775
- International Common Names
- Englishgiant silkworm mothgreat peacock mothlarge emperor mothsilkworm moth, giantViennese emperor
- Spanishgran pavóngran pavón de noche
- Frenchbombyx du poiriergrand, paon, de nuitgrand-paon
- Russianpavlinoglazka grushevaya
- Local Common Names
- GermanyBirnspinnerGrosses NachtpfauenaugeNachtpfauenauge, GrossesNachtpfauenauge, WienerWiener Nachtpfauenauge
- Hungaryéjjeli nagy pávaszemnagy pávazsem
- Italygrande pavone di notte
- EPPO code
- SATUPY (Saturnia pyri)
Pictures
Larva
Full-grown larva of S. pyri from Austria. The brown flush denotes the onset of pre-pupation coloration; this is not present in actively feeding larvae, which are apple green.
©A.R. Pittaway
Adult male
Adult male of S. pyri from Vienna, Austria.
©A.R. Pittaway
Distribution
Host Plants and Other Plants Affected
| Host | Host status | References |
|---|---|---|
| Acer (maples) | Wild host | |
| Aesculus hippocastanum (horse chestnut) | Wild host | |
| Alnus (alders) | Wild host | |
| Betula (birches) | Wild host | |
| Corylus avellana (hazel) | Wild host | |
| Cydonia (quince) | Wild host | |
| Fagus (beeches) | Wild host | |
| Fraxinus excelsior (ash) | Wild host | |
| Juglans regia (walnut) | Main | |
| Malus domestica (apple) | Main | |
| Malus sylvestris (crab-apple tree) | Wild host | |
| Olea europaea subsp. europaea (European olive) | Main | |
| Platanus orientalis (plane) | Wild host | |
| Populus nigra (black poplar) | Wild host | |
| Prunus armeniaca (apricot) | Main | |
| Prunus avium (sweet cherry) | Main | |
| Prunus domestica (plum) | Main | |
| Prunus dulcis (almond) | Main | |
| Prunus persica (peach) | Main | |
| Prunus salicina (Japanese plum) | Other | |
| Prunus spinosa (blackthorn) | Wild host | |
| Pyrus communis (European pear) | Main | |
| Rubus (blackberry, raspberry) | Wild host | |
| Salix (willows) | Wild host | |
| Syringa vulgaris (lilac) | Other | |
| Tilia (limes) | Wild host | |
| Ulmus (elms) | Wild host |
Symptoms
The larvae are mainly diurnal and prefer older leaves, often stripping growing shoots, particularly in the final instar. Fully-grown larvae can often be found sitting fully exposed on stems they have denuded.
List of Symptoms/Signs
| Symptom or sign | Life stages | Sign or diagnosis |
|---|---|---|
| Plants/Leaves/external feeding |
Prevention and Control
Most of the standard chemical pesticides used to control insect pests on fruit trees will control this species, for example, carbaryl or chlorpyrifos.
Impact
S. pyri has little economic impact. In Italy, S. pyri, which is usually only a very minor pest can, when the occasional outbreak occurs, rapidly defoliate pear and apple trees (Bertucci, 1983) (particularly pear trees). A few larvae can be particularly destructive in tree nurseries (Novák, 1980). This species has also been recorded as a pest of almond trees in the Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel) (Talhouk, 1977).
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Copyright
Copyright © CABI. CABI is a registered EU trademark. This article is published under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
History
Published online: 22 November 2019
Language
English
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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