DISTRIBUTION:

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis (wingspan: males: 79-94mm; females: 84-113mm) flies in
Brazil: Goias: Vianapolis; Minas Gerais: Belo Horizonte; Itanhandu (LV); Rio de Janeiro: Mage; Itataia; Tingua; Sao Paulo: Ypiranga; Santa Catarina: Joinville; Rio Julio; Sao Bento do Sul (PB); and Parana (CM), at elevations from 160-900m.

Ezequiel Osvaldo Núñez Bustos sent me a paper in August 2015 which includes Pseudautomeris brasiliensis in northeastern Argentina.

The elongate forewing, markedly oblique with a straight outer margin, helps to distinguish this species.

Almost uniform orangey-beige ground colour, elongate forewing. Am and apical pm lines: thin, slightly darker than surroundings, bordered on facing sides with very narrow yellow/golden-orange. Concolorous cell marking: highlighted (sometimes very faintly) with small black dots.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis female, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis female, 93mm, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
Cornelll University Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis/luteata female, Mendes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
March 16, 2019, courtesy of Guilherme Furusawa, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This moth likely has at least two broods: December-January and July-August. Larry Valentine, if my id is correct, confirms an August flight in Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Enio Branco reports an August flight in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Diogo Luiz reports a July 31, 2019, flight in Rio de Janeiro.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis male, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
August 1, 2014, courtesy of Enio Branco.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis male, Sao Paulo, Brazil,
August 1, 2014, courtesy of Enio Branco.

Larval hosts possibly include Bambusa, Ricinus communis and Senna bicapsularis.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of the abdomen to call in the night-flying males. Most male activity occurs in the two hours before midnight.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis female, 100mm, Sao Bento do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil,
December 2013, courtesy of Philippe Brems.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis larvae are similar to Automeris larvae, being gregarious and having urticating spines.

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.

Bambusa Ricinus communis Senna bicapsularis......

Bamboo Castor bean plant Butterfly bush/Christmas Senna/Winter Cassia

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Possibly the following two images are brasiliensis, but brasiliensis usually does not have such a strong presence of creamy-yellow lining the upper/inner edge of the pm line.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis???? , male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
August 7, 2012, courtesy of Larry Valentine.

Pseudautomeris brasiliensis????, male, Itanhandu, Minas Gerais, Brazil,
August 20, 2012, courtesy of Larry Valentine.