Automeris io

Automeris io

Io moth
Female (top) and male (below)
Female (top) and male (below)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Automeris
Species:
A. io
Binomial name
Automeris io
(Fabricius, 1775)[1]
The eyespots of Automeris io female looking very like owls' eyes
Io moth caterpillar, late instar, showing spines

Automeris io is the North American Io moth. It has anti-predator defences common in the Lepidoptera. The adults have a two-stage defence system: first they are cryptic with their wings closed. If predators get too near, they flash their vivid eye markings. This startles the predator, and the moth has time to fly off and hide. The adults are nocturnal, they only fly at night, and during the day they sit on tree trunks or branches.[2][3]

Very widespread, the moth ranges from southern Canada to Mexico and Costa Rica. In between, it is found widely in the USA.[4]

Life cycle

Adults

They do not eat, and live only about a week: all they do is reproduce. This is typical of Saturniid moths. They have sexual dimorphism as can be seen from the illustrations, and fly at night. The females come out of the cocoon with ready-made eggs, and the males pick up the female pheromones with their extra-big antennae.

Caterpillars

The caterpillars live together (are gregarious), and travel in single file all over the food plant. They start off orange in colour, and eventually turn bright green. As they grow in size they become covered with stinging spines. The spines deliver a very painful venom which is released at the slightest touch.

  • General advice: large-haired caterpillars should not be touched except by experts.

References

  1. ↑ Fabricius, Johan Christian (1775). Systema entomologiae : sistens insectorvm classes, ordines, genera, species, adiectis synonymis, locis, descriptionibvs, observationibvs (PDF) (in Latin). Flensbvrgi et Lipsiae :In Officina Libraria Kortii. p. 560. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.36510. OCLC 559265566. Retrieved 15 March 2018.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  2. ↑ Ruxton G.D. Sherratt T.N. and Speed M.P. 2004. Avoiding attack: the evolutionary ecology of crypsis, warning signals & mimicry. Oxford University Press, p194/5. ISBN 0-19-852860-4
  3. ↑ Edmunds M. 1974. Defence in animals: a survey of anti-predator defences. Longmans, London. ISBN 0-582-44132-3
  4. ↑ "Species detail | butterflies and moths of North America". Butterfliesandmoths.org. Archived from the original on 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2011-10-18.

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