Automeris io

• Overview
• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Biology
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Overview

Interesting Facts

Common Names

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

Habitat

Deciduous forests , thorn scrub , and suburban areas.

Biology

Diet

Caterpillar hosts: A variety of plants including hackberry (Celtis), willow (Salix), mesquite (Prosopis), redbud (Cercis), currant (Ribes), blackberry (Rubus), and pear (Pyrus). Adult food: Adults do not feed .

Reproduction

Adults emerge during late morning or early afternoon, and mating takes place in the late evening. Females lay clumps of eggs on leaves or stems of the host plants . Young caterpillars feed together as a group and move in long "trains" while older caterpillars feed alone. Papery cocoons are spun in litter under the host plant or in crevices.

Behavior

Flight: One brood in the north from May-June, two to three broods in the south from February-September, several broods throughout the year in the Florida Keys .

Taxonomy

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

• A bibliography of the writings of Professor Mark Vernon Slingerland / by M. D. Leonard. Ithaca: Cornell University, 1914. url p. 627.
• A hand-book to the order Lepidoptera. By W.F. Kirby. .. London, E. Lloyd, limited, 1896-1897. url .
• A manual for the study of insects / by John Henry Comstock and Anna Botsford Comstock. Ithaca, N.Y.: The Comstock Pub. Co., 1920. url p. 680.
• A manual for the study of insects, by John Henry Comstock. .. and Anna Botsford Comstock. .. Ithaca, N.Y., Comstock Publishing Company, 1916 [c1895] url p. 351, p. 680.
• A manual for the study of insects. Rev. ed. By John Henry Comstock, and Anna Botsford Comstock, and Glenn W. Herrick. Ithaca, N. Y., Comstock Pub. Co., 1930. url p. 251, p. 386.
• A manual of the study of insects, Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock publishing company, 1895. url p. 351, p. 680.
• A natural history of the British Lepidoptera: a text-book for students and collectors / by J.W. Tutt. London: S. Sonnenschein, 1899-1904. url p. 48.
• A natural history of the British butterflies; their world-wide variation and geographical distribution. A text-book for students and collectors. London: E. Stock, [19--?] url p. 48, p. 553.
• Agriculture of Maine: . .. annual report of the Commissioner of Agriculture of the State of Maine. Augusta: [State of Maine, Dept. of Agriculture, 1903-1940.] url , p. 212, p. 227.
• American insects / by Vernon L. Kellogg. New York: Holt, 1904. url , p. 424, p. 425, p. 426.
• American insects, by Vernon L. Kellogg. .. with many original illustrations by Mary Wellman. New York, H. Holt and Company, 1908. url , p. 424, p. 425, p. 426, p. 426, p. 671.
• American insects, ill. by Mary Wellman. New York, Holt, 1914. url , p. 424, p. 426, p. 671.
• An introduction to entomology, by John Henry Comstock. .. Ithaca, N.Y., The Comstock publishing co., 1920. url p. 100, p. 100, p. 722.
• An introduction to entomology. Ithaca, N.Y., Comstock, 1949. url p. 722.
• Annals - Entomological Society of America. [College Park, Md., etc.]Entomological Society of America. url p. 297, p. 299, p. 391.
• Annals of the Carnegie Museum. [Pittsburgh]: Published by authority of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Institute, 1901- url p. 39.
• Annals of the Entomological Society of America. [College Park, Md., etc.]: Entomological Society of America. url p. 103, p. 156, p. 297, p. 299, p. 391.
• Annual report / Albany: University of the State of New York, 1902-1918. url , p. 102, p. 105, p. 106, p. 119, p. 74, p. 97.
• Annual report / Entomological Society of Ontario. Toronto, The Society. url p. 113.
• Annual report / New York State Museum. Albany, N.Y.: University of the State of New York, c1904-1920. url p. 424, p. 558, p. 558, p. 72.
• Annual report of the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. [Orono, Me.: Maine State College, 1885-1953. url p. 205, p. 210, p. 234, p. 245, p. 7.
• Annual report of the Regents / Albany: J.B. Lyon, State Printer, 1890-1903. url p. 1040, p. 267, p. 417, p. 487, p. 593.
• Applied entomology; an introductory text-book of insects in their relations to man, New York [etc.]McGraw-Hill book company, inc., 1921. url p. 286, p. 375.
• Bibliography of the more important contributions to American economic entomology. Washington: Govt. print. off., 1889-1905. url p. 102.
• Biltmore lectures on sylviculture / by C. A. Schenck. Albany, N.Y.: Brandow Printing Co., 1907. url p. 153.
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• Bulletin / Illinois Natural History Survey. Urbana, State of Illinois, Dept. of Registration and Education, Natural History Survey Division, 1918-1985. url p. 154.
• Bulletin / U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Entomology. Washington: G.P.O., 1904-1916. url .
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• Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society. Brooklyn, N.Y.: The Society, url p. 152, p. 31, p. 70.
• Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 87 1941 Cambridge, Mass.: The Museum, 1863- url p. 475.
• Bulletin. [Hanover, N.H.]: New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station, 1888-1948. url p. 260.
• Bush-fruits: a horticultural monograph of raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, currants, gooseberries, and other shrub-like fruits / by Fred W. Card. New York: Macmillan, 1909, c1989. url p. 280, p. 431.
• Bush-fruits; a horticultural monograph of raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, currants, gooseberries, and other shrub-like fruits, by Fred W. Card. New York, Macmillan, 1907. url p. 280, p. 431, p. 517.
• Catalog of hymenoptera in America north of Mexico / prepared cooperatively by specialists on the various groups of Hymenoptera under the direction of Karl V. Krombein. .. [et al.]. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1979- url , p. 248, p. 677, p. 702.
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• Concealing-coloration in the animal kingdom; an exposition of the laws of disguise through color and pattern: being a summary of Abbott H. Thayer's discoveries, New York, The Macmillan Co., 1909. url .
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• Handbook of medical entomology / Wm. A. Riley and O.A. Johannsen. Ithaca, N.Y.: Comstock Pub. Co., 1915. url p. 341, p. 47.
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• Handbook of medical entomology [by] Wm. A. Riley. .. and O. A. Johannsen. .. Ithaca, N.Y., The Comstock publishing company, 1915. url p. 341, p. 47.
• Hymenoptera of America north of Mexico: synoptic catalog, second supplement / prepared by the staff and collaborators of the Hymenoptera Unit, Insect Identification and Parasite Introduction Research Branch, Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, under the Washington, D.C.: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, 1967. url p. 41.
• Illinois biological monographs. Urbana, Univ. of Illinois Press. url p. 164.
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• Insect life: an introduction to nature-study and a guide for teachers, students, and others interested in out-of-door life. New YorkD. Appleton1897 url p. 189, p. 343.
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• Journal of entomology and zoology. Claremont, Calif., U.S.A.: Pomona College Dept. of Zoology, [1913- url p. 101, p. 101, p. 106, p. 106.
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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 28, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 2 providers.
• 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 28, 2008:

• Illinois Natural History Survey
• Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad (Costa Rica): Biodiversidad de Costa Rica

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2605322
• Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: Lep-65911.0
• Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEW0N020
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 171368

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=29&sci=Saturniidae&com=Wild Silk Moths [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Coloradia&search=Search [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.