Wingspan: 55–67 mm
Flight period of butterflies: in one generation from June to August
Host plants of caterpillars: species from the Salix genus (Salix)
The Purple Emperor (Apatura iris) is a large butterfly from the family Nymphalidae (the brush-footed butterflies) that got its name from the distinctive blending of colors on the upper side of the wings. The almost black base color of the wings, when viewed from different angles, changes to blue to violet, as light on the surface of the scales covering the wings refracts, which we perceive as a change in color. The wing color of the females does not change. A uniform dark coloration of the upper side of the wings in the Purple Emperor is interrupted by bands of white spots, and at the rear end of the hind wings there is an orange-edged eye-spot. The underside of the wings is reddish-brown with gray parts and white bands, and the eye pattern on the underside is on the forewings.
These beautiful butterflies live in landscapes overgrown with deciduous forests, where in clearings and other sunlit spots, for example along forest roads, the trees that serve as host plants for the caterpillars grow. Adult butterflies are attracted to animal droppings, human sweat or hot asphalt, because at these places they obtain mineral nutrients that are lacking in their nectar-based diet.
