DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris postalbida (forewing length: males: 50-68mm; females: 65-83mm) (wingspan: males: 93-132; females: 117-147mm) is endemic of the Pacific region of
Colombia: Choco, Valle del Cauca, Nariono and probably Cauca;
and Ecuador: Esmeraldas (HK), (Imbabura, 1600m, JMK), Pichincha, Cotopaxi, Bolivar and Canar;
flying in hyper-humid tropical forests (0-1200-(1600m, JMG)).

Visit beautiful images of live, reared Automeris postalbida female and larvae 1-6 instars, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Other records indicate it also flies in
Costa Rica: Heredia, Cartago, Limon (KP), Alajuela, Guanacaste, Puntarenas, San Jose;
Panama: Chiriqui; Bocas del Toro; Colon (TS)
Nicaragua: Jinotega, Matagalpa, Zelaya, Rio San Juan;
Honduras: Atlantida, Olancho (RDC);
Guatemala: (Izabal (JM)); and south to ?? Peru.

Automeris postalbida, male, 110mm, Honduras, courtesy of Ronald D. Cave.

Automeris postalbida male, Santa Rita Arriba, Colon, Panama,
119mm, August 22, 2012, 225m, courtesy of Terry Stoddard, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Although the image from Panama is of a very worn specimen, I belive the visible characters indicate it is most likely Automeris postalbida: Hindwing iris seems grey, pupil seems large and suboval, suffused with white (Bill Oehlke).

Automeris postalbida, Los Cedros, Imbabura, Ecuador,
1600m, courtesy of Jean-Marc Gayman, id by Bill Oehlke.

Automeris postalbida, Los Cedros, Imbabura, Ecuador,
1600m, courtesy of Jean-Marc Gayman, id by Bill Oehlke.

The outer margin of this large Automeris is slightly convex. The ground colour is dark brown with a violet cast, especially in the median area. The dark pm line is straight to slightly convex and is broadly preapical and is faintly inwardly lined with pale greyish-white. The cell area is slightly darker than its surroundings. The submarginal area is slightly darker than the marginal area.

Lemaire groups egeus, larra, boops, niepelti and postalbida. The abdomen is orange, the basal area of the hindwing is orange and the submarginal band of the hindwing is black (or dark red brown) in this grouping.

Niepelti and postalbida have dark rings, lacking in the other three species, on the dorsal surface of the abdomen.

Automeris niepelti female and male, (top) Ecuador,
Automeris postalbida female and male, (bottom) Ecuador,
courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

Niepelti has the submarginal band of the hindwing deeply notched and the pupil is often completely covered with white scales. Postalbida pupil is large and ovate, with the appearance of an egg, lying on its side when the moth is spread.

Egeus has the distinctive, small black pupil surrounded by a white "iris".

The eyespot of boops has a large dark pupil and a broader outer black ring than found in either egeus or larra. The submarginal band of larra is more deeply notched than that of boops.

Automeris postalbida female courtesy of Dan Janzen.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Robert Lehman reports a July flight in Honduras.

Lorenzo Comoglio reports an April flight in Alluriquin, Pichincha, Ecuador.

Visit Automeris postalbida male, La Ceiba, Atlantida, Honduras, 400m, 102mm, July 17, 2002, courtesy of Robert Lehman.

Costa Rica: February-March, November
Panama: May, August
Colombia: January-March, July-December
Ecuador: January-March, April, September

There are probably at least three broods annually and flight times are probably more expansive than listed.

Larvae feed on just about anything they are offered.

Male courtesy of Dan Janzen.

Automeris postalbida female, courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

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

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 the early instars. Spines are much elongated compared to other Automeris species.

Larvae bulk up considerably for final instar and remain gregarious, often following each other, head to tail, in a long procession on host branches. This is an extremely large caterpillar (>15cm) with urticating spines. It was often found feeding on palms. The caterpillar will click its mandibles and can be discovered that way. Early instars fed as a group but later instars would feed alone. Rearing times for this species (in the lab) were in excess of a month if an early instar was discovered. This wounded larva reveals the still very much elongated spines.

In this final instar image by Chris Conlan, the elongated spines of thorax and posterior abdomen (off-white) offer formidable obstacles to predation.

Automeris postalbida fifth instar, Esmeraldas, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Automeris postalbida?? fifth instar, Soberania National Park, Panama, Panama,
courtesy of Howard Topoff, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

Regarding the Automeris larva directly above from Soberania National Park, Panama, here is back and forth communication between myself and non-member Howard Topoff:

Howard writes, August 9, 2014: "Hi Bill. Try this one. I think a Saturniid. Found on a branch overhanging the road at Canopy Tower in Soberania National Park, Panama. It is huge - about 4.5 inches. Any thoughts?"

I reply (more or less by process of elimination), "Hi Howard,

"It is one of the Automeris species in the Automeris egeus Group. I only have one species known from Panama in that group and that is Automeris postalbida in the postalbida subgroup.

"Your larva is a pretty good match for Automeris postalbida, but your larva seems paler than typical postalbida. That could be because of the brightness of the sun, or it could be that your larva is one of the more recently described Automeris in the same group and subgroup, but thus far only known from nearby Costa Rica (silkae, vanschaycki, anikmeisterae).

"These are all relatively large Automeris and would be a good match, in size, for the larva you found. Automeris egeus is also a pretty good match, (but darker, like postalbida) but I do not have it ranging into Panama. Thanks for thinking of me."

Bill Oehlke

Howard responds, "Bill. I think you nailed it. I have seen the adult, but never matched it with its larva. Thanks for your help. We could use you down here."

I subsequently requested permission to post image to this page and permission was granted by Howard.

Visit Automeris postalbida larvae, Mompiche, Esmeraldas, Ecuador, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Visit Automeris postalbida, Union del Toachi-Otongachi, Alluriquin, Pichincha, Ecuador, courtesy of Lorenzo Comoglio.

Larval Food Plants

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Acalypha diversifolia Alfaroa guanacastensis Brosimum alicastrum Cecropia obtusifolia Cupania glabra Dichapetalum morenoi Erythroxylon macrophyllum....... Ficus pertusa Guarea glabra Guatteria tonduzi Gunzalagunia bracteosa Heliconia latispithe Hirtella racemosa Inga longispica Inga oerstediana Inga punctata Inga vera Licania riverae Meliosma glabrata Musa cavendishii Ocotea salicifolia Pentagonia donnell-smithii Pithecellobium longifolium Psidium guajava

Three-seeded mercury Alfaroa guanacaslensis Capomo Guarumo American toadwood Dichapetalum morenoi Catuaba Strangler fig Guarea glabra Guatteria tonduzi Gunzalagunia bracteosa Heliconia latispithe Serrecillo Guaba Guaba Guaba Guaba Licania riverae Meliosma glabrata Musa cavendishii Ocotea salicifolia Pentagonia donnell-smithii Pithecellobium longifolium Guava

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