DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris fletcheri (wingspan: males: 75-86mm; females: 96mm) flies in
French Guiana: Fleuve l'Oyapok, Route de Cayenne a Regina, Cacao, Piste Coralie, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Route de Mana, Saul, P. Isnard, Kaw; and
Venezuela: Bolivar; and
probably in between those two countries: Guyana and Surinam.

Automeris fletcheri male, Camp Caiman, road to Kaw, French Guiana,
April 28, 2011, courtesy of Andres Urbas, id by Bill Oehlke.

Squarish wings, weak markings and uniform ground colour distinguish this species. There are also black scales on the inner margin of the hw yellow band and on the thin yellow band circling the eyespot. The pupil is also small and suffused with white.

The moth is quite similar to A. duchartrei and A. goodsoni.

Automeris fletcheri (male), French Guiana, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in all months except March. Andres Urbas, if my id is correct, reports an April 28, 2011, flight near Kaw, French Guiana.

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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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 fletcheri is honourific for Fletcher.