Great purple emperor

The Great Purple Emperor (known as the Purple Butterfly prior to ) is bug in the introduced in. After, the Purple Butterfly remained absent from the until , where it was available for a limited time as part of the 'All Aflutter Butterfly Goals' event. It later reappeared once again in.

Donating to the museum
As with all bugs in the, the Great Purple Emperor can be donated to the museum by talking to Blathers, who will also tell the player some information about the donation.

In
"There's an old saying among some of my contemporaries: "Butterflies are beautiful, yet moths are monstrous." Well, if you were to ask me, I'd say they were all the same! By which I mean disgusting! Truly hoo-rrific, wot wot!"

In
"The great purple emperor lives high in the treetops and is renowned for its pretty purple-hued wings. Its impressive bird-like wingspan and elusive nature have made it a favorite among butterfly aficionados. But truth be told, the so-called great purple emperor has some not-so-great personal peculiarities. For one...it has two horrid HORNS upon its head when it is in its caterpillar form. For two...it has been known to dine on feces and animal carcasses! Hoo! That's why I call it the Emperor of EWWW!"

When donated, the great purple emperor can be found flying between the trees in the main room of the bug exhibit, being one of the few butterflies not found in the butterfly room.

Real-world information
Sasakia charonda, also known as the Japanese emperor or giant purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to eastern Asia (including all of Japan, the Korean peninsula, mainland China, northern Taiwan, and northern Vietnam). It is the national butterfly of Japan.

Trivia

 * The catch quote for the Great Purple Emperor in is possibly a reference to "", a song by American singer-songwriter Prince.