Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
BugGuide Gathering
Pack Forest
Washington State
July 10-12, 2009
Details...

Photos from the 2009 gathering
 
Photos from the 2008 gathering in Tennessee
 
Photos from the 2007 gathering in Minnesota

TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Moths » Bombycoidea » Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths (Saturniidae) » Buck and Io Moths (Hemileucinae) » Hemileucini » Automeris » Io Moth - Hodges#7746 (Automeris io)

Species Automeris io - Io Moth - Hodges#7746

Classification · Hodges Number · Other Common Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Food · Life Cycle · Remarks · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
IO Moth Caterpillar - Automeris io Unknown Caterpillar - Automeris io Automeris io 4th instar - Automeris io Io Moth Catepillar - Automeris io 4th instar - Automeris io 1sth instar - Automeris io Caterpillar - Automeris io Automeris Io - Caterpillar - Automeris io
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
No Taxon (Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea
Family Saturniidae (Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths)
Subfamily Hemileucinae (Buck and Io Moths)
Tribe Hemileucini
Genus Automeris
Species io (Io Moth - Hodges#7746)
Hodges Number
7746
Other Common Names
Peacock Moth
Numbers
Common (1)
Size
Wingspan 5-8cm (1)
Caterpillars may grow to 7cm (2)
Identification
White filled, black and blue eyespots are hindwing are distinctive. Overall color varies from reddish to yellowish. Males (below left) are yellower, females (below right) redder.

Caterpillars gregarious in early instars, starting out orange then maturing to pale blue-green with clusters of spines and a red line along each side with white underneath.:
Range
Eastern North America, west to Arizona, and south into Central America (Featured Creatures)
Season
Flies May to September (1)
Food
Numerous plants and trees, including birches, clover, corn, elms, maples, oaks, willows, roses, cotton, hibiscus, azaleas, palms, and even some grasses (Featured Creatures)(1)
Life Cycle
Larva are gregarious early on, but go it alone as they mature. They leave the hostplant to form a papery cocoon, usually in leaf litter. There may be up to four generations in the south, but usually just one in the north. (Featured Creatures)
Remarks
Caution, larva may "sting" if handled. The larger the caterpillar the more intense the stinging sensation caused by the urticating spines.
Print References
Covell, page 49, plates 1 (#12), 2 (#5), 10 (#2,#4) (1)
Peterson's First Guides, Caterpillars, page 120 (2)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects & Spiders, photos 27, 566, page 771 (3)
Internet References
Detailed info from Featured Creatures at the University of Florida
Species info including natural history, rearing notes, and lots of photos by John Cody
Male photo by Lynn Scott
Photos, some live, some pinned, both sexes, and a larval image at Georgia Lepidoptera
Live photos, both sexes, at Maryland Moths
Caterpillar account from Caterpillars of Eastern Forests
Works Cited
1.Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths
By Charles V. Covell
2.Peterson First Guide to Caterpillars of North America
By Amy Bartlett Wright
3.National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders
By Lorus and Margery Milne
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by Hannah Nendick-Mason
Last updated 29 June, 2009 - 6:04am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2009 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by Iowa State University Entomology.

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Site Map
Contact