Automeris Io

Automeris io io
(Fabricius, 1775)

Automeris io of male courtesy of Paul Duncan.

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Automeris, Hubner, 1819

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"Someone to Watch Over Me"
copyright C. Odenkirk
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DISTRIBUTION:

In Canada, the Automeris io moth (wingspan 2.5-3.5 inches) is found in the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick. In the United States, this species ranges in and to the east of the following states: North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas. There are populations in the extreme southeast corner of Utah.

This species has also been recorded in
Mexico: Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Guanajuato, Queretaro, Puebla, Veracruz, Chiapas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Mexico, Morelos, Oaxaca; and:
Belize: Cayo;
Guatemala: Jutiapa;
El Salvador: La Libertad;
Costa Rica: Guanacaste.

Automeris io draudtiana may be a valid subspecies. If so, those specimens taken from Sonora to Oaxaca in western Mexico would be the appropriate classification.

Matthew Nochisaki recently sent me these images of a freshly emerged Automeris io from the cocoons I had shipped to him in October. Rather than put the cocoons in cold storage, Matt wanted some early eclosions, so he kept the cocoons indoors at room temperature. He asked me what I thought would happen, and I replied, "I think the lunas will probably hatch before end of February, maybe much sooner now that days are getting longer, but I think the ios will take longer as they love higher temperatures. You should have them in a non-porous container since you are keeping them indoors where the air is very dry. The pupae, even inside the cocoons, can lose moisture into the dry indoor air and become desiccated (dehydrated) and can even die."

I am glad that Matthew had success with the io eclosion. Now I can tell others what to expect if they keep them (ios) at room temperature during winter months.

As far as I know, increasing photo period (days start getting longer around December 21) helps to break diapause, and development will occur if there is sufficient warmth. Keeping diapausing luna and polyphemus cocoons at room temperature during winter months will usually see the moths emerging in January-February, depending upon temperature. I will have to ask Matthew if he turned up the heat on the io.

Note the snow cover on the Connecticut landscape, visible through the window.

Automeris io male, Connecticut, January 21, 2014,
indoor winter eclosion, courtesy of Matthew Nochisaki.

Automeris io male, Connecticut, January 21, 2014,
"Suprise!"

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

In southern Canada and northern states, Automeris io is univoltine (single brooded). Most single brood adults fly in late May to early July.
From New Jersey westward, the species is sometimes double-brooded depending on springtime weather. Larvae are frequently found on various species of cherry, but they will eat just about anything. Jeff Keverline reports success rearing larvae through to adulthood on Southern Red Oak (Quercus falcata) in Texas.

Automeris io fifth instar on Quercus falcata, July 2009, Austin, Texas, courtesy of Jeff Keverline.

Adults fly in late April to May and then again July and August.
In the Florida Keys and southern Texas there are three to four broods.
Both sexes are attracted to lights and fly when air temperatures exceed 45 F or 7 C, but males appear much more often than females.

ECLOSION:

Adults emerge from their flimsy, valveless cocoons in late morning or early afternoon and then climb and hang so that furled wings can be inflated with fluid pumped from the body.

Eclosion (escape or emergence from the cocoon) takes only a few minutes and "inflation" takes about twenty minutes.

Females seldom fly until after mating. Males begin flying shortly after dusk.



Photo by Dan MacKinnon for Bill Oehlke

SCENTING AND MATING:


Photo courtesy of John Campbell

Females extend a scent gland from the posterior region of the abdomen in an effort to attract males via the wind carried scent (pheromone). Some breeders have indicated that this species is difficult to mate in captivity and have best results by putting the unmated female in a cage or sleeve over the host plant and then introducing a male. Other breeders have indicated the moths mate readily in captivity even in small cages. Females generally do not fly until after mating.

Visit Automeris io female, June 17, 2011, courtesy of Cathy Keifer.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are small and white with a large micropyle rosette that turns black as the fertile eggs develop. The eggs are usually laid in clusters of twenty plus and early instar larvae are gregarious and travel regularly in single file processions all over the food plant. Emerged larvae usually eat a portion of the egg shell and remain close to the cluster until all eggs have emerged.

The newly emerged larvae are small and a dull orange color and remain that way for first two instars.


Photo courtesy of John H. Campbell.

Some larvae progress very rapidly while others from the same egg batch progress much more slowly. Larvae are urticating (have poisonous spies) and remain gregarious (travel and feed in groups) through all instars, making them relatively easy to find in the wild by collectors and predatory wasps. The pain from the venomous spines is quite annoying and sometimes produces a rash on tender skin. Bright green or yellow colouration of body and spines is taken on during third instar.The cocoon is made from a dark, coarse silk and is a very flimsy affair. The dark brown, almost black pupa can easily be seen through the silk when the cocoon is held up to a light, and female moths and pupae tend to be considerably larger than males. Most larvae will leave the food plant to spin cocoons amongst litter on the ground. Some larvae will use a leaf wrap and the cocoons will fall to the ground with the autumn leaves.


Larval Food Plants

Photo courtesy of Mark Lasko


It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile. Starred items are successfully used by my father, Don Oehlke, in New Jersey.


Prunus pensylvanica ....... Pin cherry
Salix.......................Willow


Abies balsamea ........ Balsam fir
Acer rubrum ....... Red maple
Amorpha fruticosa ........ Bastard indigo
Baptisia tinctoria ....... Wild indigo
Carpinus caroliniana ....... American hornbeam
Cassia fasciculata
Celtis laevigata ...... Texas sugarberry
Cercis canadensis ....... Redbud
Comptonia peregrina....... Sweet fern
Cornus florida ....... Floweringdogwood
Corylus avellana...... European hazel
Fagus ....... Beech
Fraxinus .......Ash
Gleditsia triacanthos...... Honeylocust
Gossypium herbaceum ....... Levant cotton
Hibiscus lasiocarpus
Humulus lupulus......... Hops
Ilex verticillata ...... Black alder
Lespedeza .......Bush clover
Leucaena pulverulenta .... Giant leadtree
Liquidambar styraciflua ....... Sweetgum
Liriodendron tulipifera ..... Tuliptree/White poplar
Magnolia virginiana ........ Sweetbay
Malus pumila ........Apple
Malvaviscus arboreus...... Wax mallow
Melilotus alba ......... White sweet clover
Melilotus officinalis ........ Yellow sweet clover
Mimosa ............ Mimosa
Myrica pensylvanica ......... Northern bayberry
Nephelium lichti .......Lychee
Ostrya virginiana ......... American hop hornbeam
Platanus occidentalis ........ American plane tree/Sycamore
Populus balsamifera ........ Balsam poplar
Populus deltoides ....... Eastern cottonwood
Populus gileadensis........ Balm-of-Gilead
Populus tremuloides ........ Quaking aspen
Prunus cerasus.......... Sour cherry
Prunus domestica ........ Garden plum
Prunus serotina ....... Wild black cherry
Prunus virginiana ......... Chokecherry *
Pyrus communis ........ Pear
Pyrus malus ........... Apple
Quercus palustris ........ Pin oak
Quercus falcata (JK) ....... Southen red oak
Rhizophera mangle ........ American mangrove
Rhododendron .......... Azalea
Ribes sativum ........... Common currant
Robinia pseudoacacia ...... Black locust\False acacia
Rosa ............... Rose
Rubus allegheniensis ....... Sow-teat blackberry
Rubus canadensis
Salix interior ....... Sandbar willow
Sassafras albidum ..... Sassafras
Serenoa repens ........ Saw palmetto
Spiraea ..........Meadowsweet
Symphoricarpos albus........ Snowberry
Tilia ............... Basswood/Lime/Linden
Trifolium repens ......... White clover
Viburnum dentatum ....... Southern arrowwood
Wisteria frutescens
Wisteria sinensis ............ Chinese wisteria
Zea mays ............. Cultivated corn/Maize

Female courtesy of Leroy Simon.


Male courtesy of Leroy Simon

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