Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Cecrops Eyed Silkmoth
Description
Family Saturniidae
'The Saturniidae are members
of the Superfamily
Bombycoidea
. These species are medium to very large in size, and this family
includes the largest moths in North America. Adults
have a wingspan of 3 to 15 centimeters, relatively small heads
, and densely hairy
bodies. Larvae are usually very fleshy
, with clumps
of raised bristles
. Buck
moth and Io
moth caterpillars have sharp, stinging
hairs
. Caterpillars mostly feed
on leaves of trees
and shrubs
; some cause severe damage. Pupa develop in silken cocoons
or in the soil. This family does not contain the commercial
silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), which is not native
to North America.
'[1]
Subfamily Hemileucinae
The buck and io moths are members of the Family Saturniidae. Adults of these species have wingspans of 4.5 to 8 cm, hairy bodies, and relatively small heads . Caterpillars have sharp, stinging hairs , and feed on leaves of trees and shrubs . Some buck and io moths pupate in a well-built silken cocoon .[2]
Physical Description
Species Automeris cecrops
Upperside of forewing ranges from beige to pink and has a thin yellow line running diagonally from the tip to the inner margin . Large black eyespot on hindwing is surrounded by an orange patch . (ref. 106121)
Color:
Upperside of forewing ranges from beige to pink and has a thin yellow line running diagonally from the tip to the inner margin . Large black eyespot on hindwing is surrounded by an orange patch .
Size/Age/Growth
Wing span : 3 1/8 - 4 3/16 inches (8 - 10.6 cm).
Habitat
Oak woodland, shrubland, and thorn scrub .
Biology
Diet
Caterpillar hosts: Fendler ceanothus (Ceanothus fendleri), catclaw mimosa (Mimosa biuncifera), mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius), and oaks (Quercus). Adult food: Adults do not feed .
Reproduction
Eggs are laid in groups of 30-40 on the host plant. Young caterpillars feed together while older caterpillars are solitary. Fully-grown caterpillars pupate and overwinter in cocoons spun in plant litter on the ground .
Behavior
Flight: One brood from May-August.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Superfamily:
Bombycoidea
()
- Family:
Saturniidae
()
- Boisduval, 1834[1837]
- Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths
- Subfamily:
Hemileucinae
()
- Buck and Io Moths
- Genus:
Automeris
()
- Hübner, [1819]
- Specific name:
cecrops
- Boisduval 1875
- Scientific name: - Automeris cecrops Boisduval 1875
- Specific name:
cecrops
- Boisduval 1875
- Genus:
Automeris
(
- Subfamily:
Hemileucinae
(
- Family:
Saturniidae
(
- Superfamily:
Bombycoidea
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name .
Similar Species
Members of the genus Automeris
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species and subspecies in this genus:
A. cecrops (Cecrops Eyed Silkmoth) · A. io (Io Moth) · A. iris (Iris Eyed Silkmoth) · A. louisiana (Louisiana Eyed Silkmoth) · A. patagoniensis (Patagonia Eyed Silkmoth) · A. randa (Randa's Eyed Silkmoth) · A. zephyria (Zephyr Eyed Silkmoth)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 15, 2012.
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed February 27, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from provider.
- LepIndex: The Global Lepidoptera Names Index. Release date: June 15, 2005
- Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
- Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).
- Ruggiero M., Gordon D., Bailly N., Kirk P., Nicolson D. (2011). The Catalogue of Life Taxonomic Classification, Edition 2, Part A. In: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist (Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D., eds). DVD; Species 2000: Reading, UK.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 27, 2008:
- UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNIN/Lepidoptera
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2605321
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-65839.0
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEW0N050
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 171367
