Automerina (Automerina) valoides
Brechlin & Meister 2011

Automerina vala/valoides??; male or female??, Shima Camp, Junin, Peru,
May 2014, 450m, courtesy of John Christensen.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Automerina, Michener, 1949

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DISTRIBUTION:

Automerina (Automerina) valoides moth (wingspan: males: mm; females: mm // forewing length: males: 24-25mm; females: ??) flies in
Peru: Madre de Dios, at elevations of 1000-1200m.

The species name is indicative of a great similarity to A. vala which was originally described from Suriname. It is believed that the original type specimen is lost so Lemaire designated a specimen from Puno, Peru, as the new lectotype, as the Puno moth seemed a perfect match for the description and picture of vala.

In 2011, Brechlin & Meister described several new Automerina species. Among them is Automerina valoides with a specimen holotype from Madre de Dios, Peru. The female, I believe, is still unknown as of this writing (January 3, 2015).

The John Christensen images on this page were sent to me for help with determining them between cypria and vala. Cypria tends to be a darker species, especially in the case of the female. Brechlin & Meister indicate that the lighter male specimen from Puno, Peru, in Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002 (identified as vala) may be the male valoides. I (Bill Oehlke) am just going on a hunch that true vala may be a Guayana-Amazonian species while valoides may be an east Andean species from southern Peru, probably Junin, Cusco, Madre de Dios and Puno. Otherwise the moth (three images of same moth from Junin) images on this page are more likely Automerina vala or an undescribed species.

The single moth in the three John Christensen images on this page was originally evaluated as a male. Of all the images of Automerina species that I have seen, only the females have the small tooth between M1 and M2 of the forewing outer margin and a small tooth on the hindwing outer margin at M3. The female antennae of moths in this genus are known to be variable between species. I have therefore determined (just from photos) that the moth in question is a female (even though the body looks more male-like). I could be wrong! Male or female, I think the moth in question is either valoides or vala.

Automerina vala/valoides??; male or female??, Shima Camp, Junin, Peru,
May 2014, 450m, courtesy of John Christensen.

Automerina vala/valoides??; male or female??,, Shima Camp, Junin, Peru,
May 2014, 450m, courtesy of John Christensen.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths have been taken in July. There are probably additional flight months.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of their abdomens to "call" the males. Males use their antennae to hone in on the airbourne pheromone.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae probably pupate in a very flimsy cocoon spun amongst leaf litter. Host plant might be one of the sumac species.

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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