Emperor of the Strawberry Tree (former name: Strawberry Tree Nymph) is the largest daytime butterfly in Israel and Europe. It is common in southern Europe and North Africa in Mediterranean coastal countries. This butterfly is a tropical species that apparently survived in this area from warmer periods. In Israel it is common in the Judean Hills, the Carmel, the Upper Galilee, and Mount Hermon, from May to October. Its wingspan is up to 110 mm; the female is much larger than the male. It produces two to three generations a year. This butterfly is territorial, and the males stand at good lookout points on the trees and drive from their territory any flying insect. The adults' sucking proboscis is short and they feed on the juice of rotten fruit.
The female lays the eggs on young strawberry tree leaves. The egg is round with a flat top. It is greenish in color, and after a few days it gets a brown ring at its top.
A yellowish larva hatches from the egg, with a head bearing four red horns and two red bristles at the end of its tail. After molting, its color turns velvety green; its head turns into a helmet with four horns in green and a reddish tip; the bristles at the end of its tail are greatly shortened or almost completely disappear. Two yellow eyes appear on its back with a grayish-blue spot in the center of each. The larva chooses a leaf on which it stays during the day, and every night it goes out to eat other leaves. After the meal it returns to the original leaf to rest during the day. The larva's maximum size is about 60 mm. The larva pupates on the strawberry tree.
The pupa is egg-shaped and pointed, about 30 mm in size and green in color. Its stage lasts about a month. The pupa of the last generation (October - November) undergoes diapause until the following spring.