Automerula beneluzi

Automerula beneluzi
Lemaire, new species

Automerula beneluzi (male), French Guiana, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.
left side copied to right by Bill Oehlke

TAXONOMY:

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

MIDI MUSIC

"What.A.Wonderful.World"
copyright C. Odenkirk
MIDI CITY
ON.OFF
<bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Automerula beneluzi (forewing length: males: 27-30mm; females: 40mm) flies in
French Guiana: Kaw, Cayenne, Regina, Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni;
French Guiana: Nouragues: Heliport - Drop Zone, 4.088, -52.681, collected by MAS. Smith & R. Rougerie, 2011-02-05;
French Guiana: Nouragues: Forest border, 4.088, -52.681, MAS. Smith & R. Rougerie, 2011-01-31.

Automerina (Automerula) beneluzi/yungasletes??, Beni, Bolivia,
courtesy of Thibaud Decaens and G. Lecourt,
tentative id by Bill Oehlke

This species looks much like auletes but forewings are not as elongated and wing tips are much more rounded.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in December-January-February. The larval hosts are unknown.

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 have a very dense cover of urticating spines and are gregarious in their habits. Larvae probably pupate in a flimsy cocoon spun amongst leaf litter.

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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