Great purple emperor
Amazing fact
The great purple emperor caterpillar climbs trees using silk from its mouth as a safety line.
北杜市オオムラサキセンター
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The great purple emperor caterpillar climbs trees using silk from its mouth as a safety line.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Great purple emperor
- Scientific name
- Sasakia charonda
- Japanese name
- オオムラサキ
- Group
- Insects
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Nymphalidae
- Genus
- Sasakia
How the Great purple emperor lives
In spring, the overwintered caterpillar stays still on a branch, waiting for leaves to bud. The caterpillar makes a silk pad under a leaf and becomes still with its head down. The adult emerges from its chrysalis and pumps fluid into its crumpled wings to expand them. In winter, the caterpillar shelters among fallen leaves at the base of a hackberry.
北杜市オオムラサキセンターBasic data
- Lifespan
- about 25 days as an adult
- Conservation status in Japan
- Near Threatened (NT)Assessed as Sasakia charonda charondaMinistry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020
Where the Great purple emperor has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- オオムラサキ
- 简体中文
- 大紫蛱蝶
- 繁體中文
- 大紫蛺蝶
- 한국어
- 왕오색나비
- Español
- Emperador japonés
- Deutsch
- Japanischer Kaiser
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 北杜市オオムラサキセンター — オオムラサキを観察するChecked: 2026-11-03
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, Red List 2020Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Great purple emperor, look for this
- Look for the male’s blue-purple wings.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
北杜市オオムラサキセンターEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Great purple emperor
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Chubu
- 北杜市オオムラサキセンター生態観察施設「びばりうむ長坂」で季節ごとの姿を観察。成虫の羽化は6月下旬〜7月末ごろ
Kinki
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Nymphalidae
MORE TO MEET
