Pictures and information on this page has been provided by Alejandro Borquez.

In Argentina, Pseudautomeris grammivora (wingspan: males: 60-75mm; females: 85-95mm) flies in Buenos Aires and Entre Rios in humid swampy places.

Alejandro Borquez indicates there are three flights each year, the first one in October, the second one in January and the last one in March. Adults are attracted by the lights in those months.

Larvae feed on Typha latifolia, common name Totora. It is an herbaceous plant with long vertical leaves in the shape of tape, and it grows in very damp places. Leaves grow to lengths of 1 to 2 meters. It blooms in spring and is resistant to the frosts.

Typha latifolia, Totora, Paraná de las Palmas, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Other hosts are Lirio pseudoacorus, common name yellow Lirio, and Acoro falso, bastardo Acoro. Leaves are also tape-like, with lengths up to 1.2 meters. This plant was introduced from the Mediterranean region; it is exotic in Buenos Aires, therefore invasive. It also grows in humid places.

Pseudautomeris grammivora female-Ex ovum, José C. Paz, Pcia. Buenos Aires, Argentina,
January, 15, 2011, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Pseudautomeris grammivora female, José C. Paz, Pcia. Buenos Aires, Argentina,
85mm, December 1, 2003, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen to call in the night-flying males. Most male activity occurs from 10:00 pm until shortly after midnight. Pseudautomeris grammivora larvae are similar to Automeris larvae, being gregarious and having urticating spines.

The cocoon is single-walled and thin. Alejandro Bourquez indicates the adults eclose in spring, copulate, and females deposit eggs in irregular form on Totora's long leaves or Lirio of river. From 15 to 20 eggs can be deposited in a single group, with females laying totals of 90-110 eggs. Eggs incubate for 13 to 15 days.

"De 1 mm, de color blanco-mostaza,"
courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Early instar larvae are gregarious, and tend to feed on the more tender ends of the leaves. Up to the third instar they remain united. They have a wide array of spines which can cause much pain to pests/predators.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, second instars,
courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, fourth instars,
courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, fifth instars, Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
December 22, 2010, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

In the fifth and last instar, with a size of 80 mm to 100 mm, larvae fashion a cocoon adhering to host plant foliage or to nearby foliage.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, cocoon, Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
December 26, 2010, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, pupae, Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
December 26, 2010, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

Non-diapausing pupae yield adults within 25 to 27 days.

Pseudautomeris grammivora, female ex-ovum, Jose C. Paz, Buenos Aires, Argentina,
January 15, 2011, courtesy of Alejandro Borquez.

The parasitism is very frequent by at least one member of the Ichneumonidae family.

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