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Project Noah Nature School
Automeris io
This is one of two spotted in the garden. The caterpillars are gregarious in all their instars, many times traveling in single file processions all over the food plant. As the larvae develop, they will lose their orange color and will turn bright green and urticating, having many spines. These stinging spines have a very painful venom that is released with the slightest touch. The green caterpillars have two lateral stripes, the upper one being bright red and the lower one being white.
The garden is about half an acre of native plants specifically planted for wildlife. The main water source is a pond that is filtered by two gravel streams. It is on a peninsula by Lake Lewisville.
Spotted on Jun 7, 2012
Submitted on Jun 13, 2012
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