DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris violascens (wingspan: males: 52mm; females: 75mm) flies in
Brazil: ??Rio Grande do Sul??: ?? possibly Porto Alegre??

Bill Garthe provides the two images on this page, indicating they are from Palvinha, Brazil. I cannot find a location for Palvinha in Brazil, so I think there must be a misspelling, probably by the original supplier. In past literature Automeris violascens has been synonymized with Automeris nubila from southeastern Brazil. I cannot find a more current reference to its revival to independent species status, but perhaps it has recently, based on DNA analysis, been reinstated as a valid species.

I do note the images supplied by Bill Garthe show a moth that is more toward brown than the dark black specimens on the nubila page, and Bill Garthe's male shows much more yellow on the lower wing than is shown in nubila males.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in April (BG). There are probably additional flight months.

Host plants are as yet unknown.

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 violascens female, 75mm, Palvinha, Peru,
April, 2014, courtesy of Bill Garthe.

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.

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.

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Return to Automeris Genus

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

I am not aware of the source for Automeris, The species name, "violascens" is .