DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris curvilinea (wingspan: males: 70-96mm; females: 109-126mm) flies in
Peru: Amazonas, Loreto, Huanuco, Junin (PB-J);
Bolivia: Cochabamba;
eastern Ecuador: Orellana and Napo;
Venezuela: Bolivar;
French Guiana: Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Kaw, Cacao, Regina; and
Brazil: Amazonas, Para, Mato Grosso: Cristalino Jungle Lodge (JvB), (probably Roraima (WO?));
Suriname: Brokopondo District: Brownsberg; and
probably in Guyana.

It probably also flies in southern Colombia.

It is usually taken at low elevation: sea level to 900m.

Visit Automeris curvilinea male, Brownsberg, Brokopondo District, Suriname, July 7, 2011, Johan van't Bosch.

Visit Automeris curvilinea male, Shima, Junin, Peru, 700m, June 10, 2010, Peter Bruce-Jones.

Visit Automeris curvilinea, Tena, Napo, Ecuador, courtesy of Steve Ife.

Visit Automeris curvilinea, male, female and fifth instar larva, Ecuador, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Automeris curvilinea male, Peru, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Automeris curvilinea, December, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, French Guiana,
courtesy of Antoine Guyonnet.

Automeris curvilinea, December, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, French Guiana,
courtesy of Antoine Guyonnet.

The forewing postmedial line is very concave. The antemedial line is straight and perpendicular to the inner margin.

The pupil of the hindwing eyespot is very small, with considerably white/silvery scaling.

Automeris curvilinea male, courtesy of Hubert Mayer copyright.

Automeris curvilinea female, Cristalino Jungle Lodge, Mato Grosso, Brazil,
September 4, 2007, 71m, courtesy/copyright of Johan van't Bosch.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in December-January, April and August in French Guiana; slightly earlier or later in surrounding countries. Johan van't Bosch reports an early September flight in Mato Grosso. Johan also reports a July 7, 2011, flight in Brownsberg, Brokopondo District, Suriname. Peter Bruce-Jones indicates a June 10, 2010, flight in Shima, Junin, Peru.

Bernhard Wenczel reports he has reared them successfully on beech and oak; Kirby Wolfe reports Robinia pseudoacacia.

Automeris curvilinea female, copyright protected, Kirby Wolfe.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING: Males use their more highly developed antennae to seek out females who release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky. Male, right, from French Guiana courtesy of Carlot Didier.

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. Image courtesy of Angelo Santin.

Automeris species tend to make very flimsy cocoons. The pale yellow green larval head capsule is visible above pupa on right side. Image courtesy of Angelo Santin.

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. 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.

Fagus Quercus Robinia pseudoacacia.......

Beech Oak False acacia

Automeris curvilinea, 8th instar, courtesy of Bernhard Wenczel.

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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, but curvilinea is for the curved lines on the forewings.

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