DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris hamata (wingspan: males: 61-81mm; females: 79-98mm) flies in tropical rain forests and savannas in
Costa Rica: Cartago, Puntarenas (CL), Alajuela, Guanacaste, Heredia, Limon (IB);
Mexico: Chiapas;
Nicaragua: Managua, Zelaya;
Honduras: Cortes, Comayagua, Francisco Morazan;
Panama: Chiriqui, Isle de Barro Colorado;
Colombia: Valle, Choco, Huila, Cundinamarca and Meta, and probably Nariono and Putamayo;
Ecuador: Esmeraldas, Pichincha, Los Rios, Canar, Napo, Morona-Santiago and probably Pataza;
Peru: Amazonas (TLR), Loreto, Huanuco, Junin, Madre de Dios, probably San Martin;
Bolivia: Santa Cruz, La Paz;
Brazil: Amazonas, Goias, Rondonia, Mato Grosso, Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, Parana (CM);
Paraguay: Alto Parana (CL), (Alto Paraguay, Concepcion, Canindeyu, (UD)) and probably Amambay and Itapua WO?;
Argentina: Misiones;
French Guiana: Riviere Orapu, Saint-Jean-du-Maroni, Kaw, Cayenne, Regina, Belizon;
Venezuela: Delta Amacuro, Bolivar, Distrito Federal, Aragua, Carabobo, Tachira;
probably El Salvador, Guatemala, Surinam and Guyana.

This species has been taken at elevations from sea level to 1400m.

Visit Automeris hamata male (Rio Venado, Junin, 1050m) and female (Coviriali, Junin, 662m), December 2008, courtesy of Vladimir Izersky. The male sent to me by Vladimir Izersky is unusual in that the hindwing black median line is smooth, not scalloped as in all other images on this page.

Visit Automeris hamata live male, female (recto and verso), final instar larva, Venezuela, courtesy of Jean-Yves Malmasson.

Automeris hamata male, La Selva, Heredia, Costa Rica,
June 23, 2011, courtesy of Lary E. Reeves.

Lemaire groups hamata, balachowskyi, wayampi, rostralis, duchartrei, goodsoni, meridionalis, jucunda, tamsi, chacona, chacona rectilineata and rectilinea based on genitalia, with all having the yellow ring of the eyespot very narrowly surrounded with black as well as a suffusion of black scales on the inner side of the hindwing yellow postmedial band. Based on physical appearance, especially of the male forewing, Automeris angulatus (resurrected from synonimity with hamata) and Automeris lenarti from French Guiana should be added to this list. Recently described Automeris mailinae, Peru, as well as dianae, punochacona, parachacona and chacona cochabambae also belong to the hamata group.

These moths do not have ringed abdomens.

Automeris hamata (wingspan 73mm), Coroico, Bolivia, courtesy of Henrik Bloch
January 9, 2004, S16*11.498 W067*43.452, 1799m., 22C.

Automeris hamata, both sexes, have falcate forewings wings with medial lines that almost converge along the inner margin. The median area is darker than basal or post median areas with an even darker cell area, and the antemedial line is strongly angled at the cubitus.

Automeris hamata male, Dos de Mayo City, Misiones, Argentina,
November 2007, RP (provincial route) Nš211, Dpto. Cainguas, Leo Aguado Leg., courtesy of Fernando Penco.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing most months of the year.

Vladimir Izersky reports a January-February flight in Junin, Peru.

Automeris hamata larvae feed on Fagus, Laburnum, Ligustrum, Robinia pseudoacacia and Salix.

Automeris hamata female, Costa Rica,
courtesy of Dan Janzen

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use their more highly developed antennae to seek out females (right, at rest) who release an airbourne pheromone into the night sky. This species mates readily in captivity with most pairings occuring around 3:00 am and lasting only 20-30 minutes.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Eggs are white with a green micropile, which soon changes to black if the ova are fertile.

Incubation lasts as long as three weeks and humidity should be provided if ova are indoors.

The young larvae are highly gregarious, gradually becoming solitary as they grow. These larvae fashion small silk platforms on foliage, even in the first instar, leaving the platforms to feed and returning to rest. Photo courtesy of Bernhard Jost.

There is some variation in colour among larvae, particularly in late instars. Larvae can take on a pale rosy hue or be powdery white.

Mature larvae usually descend the host plant stems or trunks to spin a cocoon amongst leaf litter or grasses. Pupation takes place three or four days after spinup.

Larval Food Plants

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 Laburnum Ligustrum Robinia pseudoacacia..... Salix

Beech Bean tree Privet Black locust/False acacia Willow

Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

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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 hamata is the name of a Nigerian warrior queen of the 10th or 11th century.

Automeris hamata male, 73mm, Esmeraldas, Ecuador,
on my home computer only.

Vist Automeris hamata Group Comparison Plate for males with a produced forewing apex.

Subgroup 3e: Automeris hamata
P hamata Schaus, 1906 Costa Rica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, French Guiana, Venezuela; probably El Salvador, Guatemala, Surinam and Guyana
angulatus Conte, 1906 Peru, is a synonym for hamata; Now, 2011, Brechlin & Meister, removed from synonymity
hippodice Draudt, 1929 ?, is a synonym for hamata
insolens Bouvier, 1927 Colombia, is a synonym for hamata
f. columbiana Draudt, 1929 Colombia, is a synonym for hamata
f. panamensis Draudt, 1929 Panama, is a synonym for hamata
P angulatus Conte, 1906 Bolivia: La Paz; removed from synonymity with hamata by Brechlin & Meister, 2011
P lenarti Brechlin & Meister & van Schayck 2011 French Guyana
P balachowskyi Lemaire, 1966 Venezuela, French Guiana, Bolivia
N lapazchowskyi Brechlin & Meister 2011, Bolivia
P wayampi Lemaire and Beneluz, new species French Guiana, north central Brazil