Automeris castrensis
Updated as per Lemaire's Hemileucinae 2002, November 3, 2005
Updated as per personal communication with Carlos Mielke (Parana), April 2008

Automeris castrensis
Schaus, 1898

Automeris castrensis male, wingspan 48 mm, Tibagi, Paraná, Brazil
February, courtesy of Eurides Furtado copyright

TAXONOMY:

Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802
Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834
Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866
Genus: Automeris, Hubner, [1819]

MIDI MUSIC

"Someone to Watch Over Me"
copyright C. Odenkirk
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DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris castrensis (wingspan: males: 48-57mm; females: 68-74mm) flies in southeastern Brazil: Parana.

Automeris castrensis male, 57mm, North Parana, Brazil,
Cornell University Collection, via Ryan Saint Laurent.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths have been taken in February.

Larval hosts are unknown.

Automeris castrensis female, wingspan 68 mm, Tibagi, Paraná, Brazil
courtesy/copyright Carlos Mielke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their more highly developed antennae to seek out females who release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky.

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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