Automeris marsoni
Brechlin & Meister, 2014

Automeris marsoni male, Cerca Pululha, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
1656m, ex ovum, courtesy of Alan Marson.

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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DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris marsoni (wingspan: males: mm; females: mm) flies in
Guatemala: Baja Verapaz: Cerca Pululha.

It has been recorded at elevations of 1656mm.

Recent DNA barcode analysis has resulted in descriptions of many new species since 2008. The moths on this page were originally labelled as Automeris escalantei, and the original image still retains that digital nomer. When Alan Marson sent images of adults from larvae he had reared from eggs from the original "X escalantei x" female from Baja Verapaz, I moved the images from the escalantei file to the pallidior file as they seemed a better match for pallidior, albeit not a perfect match.

Automeris marsoni male, Cerca Pululha, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
1656m, ex ovum, courtesy of Alan Marson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in August.

Larvae feed on Wisteria in captivity (AM).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their more highly developed antennae to seek out females who release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky.

Automeris marsoni (original) female, Guatemala: Baja Verapaz: Cerca Pululha,
1656m, August, courtesy of Paul Holt, via Alan Marson,
tentative id (2011-12) as pallidior by Bill Oehlke.

Automerispallidior female, Cerca Pululha, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
1656m, ex ovum, courtesy of Alan Marson.

When Alan first sent me the image above, the new (2011) Automeris montezuma Group 7 species had not yet been named/described. We both thought he has a female Automeris escalantei. Subsequent rearing yielded moths much lighter in colour than one would expect for Automeris escalantei. so I tentatively placed the moths on the Automeris pallidior page, with specimen type from Baja Verapaz. Guatemala, revised (June 2014) to Automeris marsoni based on DNA barcoding analysis (2014).

Alan Marson is rearing larvae from eggs, deposited by the Guatemalan female, on Wisteria.

Automeris marsoni first instars, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
reared on Rubus fruticosus, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Automeris marsoni second instars, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
reared on Wisteria, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Automeris marsoni fourth instars, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
reared on Wisteria, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Automeris marsoni fifth instars, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
reared on Wisteria, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Automeris marsoni sixth instar, Baja Verapaz, Guatemala,
reared on Wisteria, courtesy of Alan Marson.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Eggs are deposited in clusters of 6-40+ on hostplant twigs.

Larvae have urticating spines and are gregarious, especially in early instars when the entire batch may cluster on the underside of a single leaf.

The species name is honorific for Alan Marson who submitted material for analysis. Congratulatins to Alan!

Larval Food Plants

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.

Wisteria ....... (AM)

Wisteria

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