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Project Noah Nature School
Automeris io
This is my 600 th spotting for Project Noah. In addition, it is the first time that I had seen this species. It turns out that it is also a BAMONA species record for Edgefield County, SC. This is a male. Female forewings are brown or brownish purple to red and the bands and eyespots may or may not be apparent. Hindwings of both sexes are yellow to brownish orange with yellow or orange margins. Each hindwing has a large black and blue eyespot with a white dash in the middle. Wing Span: 2 - 3 1/8 inches (5 - 8 cm).
This one was attracted to a porch light near a southern deciduous forest in Edgefield County, SC. There are numerous hackberry trees in the vicinity, which serve as a host for the caterpillars.
Caterpillar Hosts: A variety of plants including hackberry (Celtis), willow (Salix), mesquite (Prosopis), redbud (Cercis), currant (Ribes), blackberry (Rubus), and pear (Pyrus). Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Spotted on May 1, 2014
Submitted on Dec 26, 2014
1 Comment
congratulations on your milestone and lovely moth :)