Automeris draudtiana
Lemaire, 1973

Automeris draudtiana (female) courtesy of Chris Conlan.

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

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DISTRIBUTION:

Automeris draudtiana (wingspan: males: 51-65mm; females: 68-78mm) flies in
western Mexico: Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guerrero, Oaxaca;
down to Central America, usually at low elevations. This species can be very difficult to distinguish from A. colenon where the two are sympatric. Jean Michel Maes reports it in
Nicaragua: Carazo, Isle de Ometepe.

There may be populations in
Belize: Cayo;
Guatemala: Jutiapa;
El Salvador: La Libertad;
and Costa Rica: Guanacaste, Heredia, Puntarenas. Automeris io is also known from the Bahamas, but I do not know if that is the nominate species or subspecies draudtiana.

I recently saw a small yellow Automeris male in a box from Honduras. I would not be surprised if it turns out to be A. draudtiana.

The female has a great suffusion of yellow in the forewing submarginal band.

In 2011, Brechlin and Meister elevated Automeris io draudtiana to full species status. It is quite possible that it has a more limited range than listed above, being replaced by similar species in the more southerly locations. Possibly the images supplied by Chris Conlan are actually Automeris siri from Chiapas, Mexico.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Moths are on the wing in June and July, with a possible second brood later in the summer.

Larvae feed upon honey locust (Gleditsia) and false acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males (above) use highly developed quadripectinate antennae to locate females at night by tracking her airbourne pheromone plume.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae are gregarious, especially in the early instars, and are armed with urticating spines.

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.

Gleditsia Robinia pseudoacacia.....

Honey locust False acacia

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Automeris draudtiana male, 57mm, Nayarit, Mexico,
on my home computer only.

Automeris draudtiana female, 74mm, Nayarit, Mexico,
on my home computer only.