''Aglia tau'', the tau emperor, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. They are also known as giant silkmoths. It is found in Europe and across Central Asia to the Pacific coast. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Their genus, '' Aglia'', is composed of 6 Palearctic (North European) species. The wingspan is 60–84 mm. The moth flies from March to July with a univoltine lifecycle depending on the location. The larvae primarily feed on European beech, but also birch, '' Alnus glutinosa'', '' Salix caprea'' and ''

Sorbus aucuparia ''Sorbus aucuparia'', commonly called rowan (UK: /ˈrəʊən/, US: /ˈroʊən/) and mountain-ash, is a species of deciduous tree or shrub in the rose family. It is a highly variable species, and botanists have used different Circumscription (taxo ...

''. The larvae look similar to Royal Walnut Moth caterpillars ''

Citheronia regalis ''Citheronia regalis'', the regal moth or royal walnut moth, is a North American moth in the family Saturniidae. The caterpillars are called hickory horned devils. The adult (imago) has a wingspan of . The species was first described by Johan Chri ...

'' in their earlier instars. They can be found in older growth forests, with a large portion of trees in the ''

Fagaceae The Fagaceae are a family of flowering plants that includes beeches, chestnuts and oaks, and comprises eight genera with about 927 species. Fagaceae in temperate regions are mostly deciduous, whereas in the tropics, many species occur as evergre ...

'' family. They can also be found in younger riparian forests with less ''

'' species present. Their life cycle is similar to any '' Lepidopterans'', consisting of 4 stages. Eggs laid by adult females take about 3 weeks to hatch into first instar caterpillars. These grow quickly and go through 4 more instars, for 5 total. Then they spin a silken cocoon on the forest floor and pupate. These pupa will overwinter until March, until warmer weather comes and they start developing. Adult moths lack mouths and only breed. Then the adult females lay eggs then die. File:Aglia Tau larva's 4th instar.JPG, 4th instar larva of the Tau Emporer File:Aglia tau IMG 0982.jpg, Adult male, ventral view

References

External links

Moths and ''Butterflies of Europe and North Africa''''Lepiforum e.V.''''Vlindernet.nl''
{{Saturniidae-stub Agliinae Moths described in 1758 Moths of Asia Moths of Europe Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus