CreatureData

Lesser purple emperor

Apatura ilia ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia) is a species in the family Nymphalidae, order Lepidoptera.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the lesser purple emperor

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
6 cm – 7.2 cm
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Scavenger
Main food
flowers
Habitat
forest, freshwater, shrubland
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)
On the wing
May to September
Generations a year
Two
Larval food plants
Salicaceae family
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the lesser purple emperor?

LESSER PURPLE EMPEROR · WINGSPAN 7.2 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 7.2 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the lesser purple emperor is about 4.2% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the lesser purple emperor live?

Not recorded

Is the lesser purple emperor endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the lesser purple emperor classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyNymphalidae
  6. genusApatura
  7. SpeciesApatura ilia ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

Synonyms Apatura ilia ilia, Apatura ilia praeclara, Apatura ilia ussuriensis, Apatura kangkeensis, Apatura metis, Apatura ussurensis, Apatura vittelinae, Iridis vulgaris, Maniola julia, Nymphalis ilia, Papilio clythia, Papilio ilia, Papilio junoniae, Papilio minor, Papilio roeselii, Tachyptera tremulae

Other names and names in other languages (33)
  • Лилава ирисова пеперудаBulgarian
  • Tornassolada petitaCatalan
  • batolec červenýCzech
  • IliaDanish
  • Espen-SchillerfalterGerman
  • Απάτουρα του ΙλίουGreek
  • Tornasolada ChicaSpanish
  • väike-kiirgliblikasEstonian
  • pikkuhäiveperhonenFinnish
  • Petit Mars changeantFrench
  • Mala preljevalicaCroatian
  • Kis színjátszólepkeHungarian
  • タイリクコムラサキJapanese
  • 오색나비Korean
  • Klenge SchillerfalterLuxembourgish
  • Puošnioji VaivaLithuanian
  • Apšu zaigraibenisLatvian
  • liten purpurkåpeNorwegian Bokmål
  • Kleine weerschijnvlinderDutch
  • Mieniak strużnikPolish
  • Irizant micRomanian
  • Переливница тополёваяRussian
  • dúhovec menšíSlovak
  • mali spreminjavčekSlovenian
  • Мали преливацSerbian
  • aspskimmerfjärilSwedish
  • Küçük Mor imparatorTurkish
  • Мінливець малийUkrainian
  • 柳紫閃蛺蝶Chinese
  • Kleiner SchillerfalterGerman
  • Mali prelivacSerbian
  • liten skimmerfjärilSwedish
  • 柳紫闪蛱蝶Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the lesser purple emperor

Other species in the same genus Apatura.

CompareLesser purple emperor vs Purple emperorLesser purple emperor vs Laverna emperorLesser purple emperor vs Schrenck's emperorLesser purple emperor vs Apatura ambica

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the lesser purple emperor?

An adult lesser purple emperor has a wingspan of 6 cm – 7.2 cm, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

What does the lesser purple emperor eat?

Its recorded main food is flowers.

What kind of animal is the lesser purple emperor?

The lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia) belongs to the family Nymphalidae in the order Lepidoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

Embed a card for this animal on your own site

Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-purple-emperor

MLA

“Lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-purple-emperor.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_purple_emperor_2026,
  title = {Lesser purple emperor (Apatura ilia)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-purple-emperor},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}