HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp

Clickable Guide

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

TaxonomyBrowse

Info

ImagesLinksBooksData

Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths (Bombycoidea) » Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths (Saturniidae) » Buck and Io Moths (Hemileucinae) » Hemileucini » Automeris » Rand's Eyed Silk Moth - Hodges#7745 (Automeris randa)

Species Automeris randa - Rand's Eyed Silk Moth - Hodges#7745

Classification · Hodges Number · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle

Automeris randa female - Automeris randa - female

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)

Family Saturniidae (Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths)

Subfamily Hemileucinae (Buck and Io Moths)

Tribe Hemileucini

Genus Automeris

Species randa (Rand's Eyed Silk Moth - Hodges#7745)

Hodges Number

7745

Range

se. Arizona, sw. New Mexico, south into central and western Mexico

Distribution is patchy and populations are widely distributed in montainous areas

Habitat

arid montane forests (usually oak dominant)

Season

in the sw. USA the adult flight period is usually associated with the late summer rains

adults can be collected between late July & early August

Males are readily attracted to lights and fly between 1:30 am - 3:00 am

Food

Captive notes:

early instar larvae seem to prefer and feed almost exclusively on oaks, Quercus spp.

late instar larvae will eat beech, chestnut and occasionally privet.

Life Cycle

eggs laid singly or in clusters on the host plant (twigs, branches, & leaves)

larvae may be abundant between August & October

(5 instars take approx. 6 to 8 weeks to mature and pupate)

Seem to over winter as pupae in silk cocoons

The silk cocoon is similar in size and texture to that of Actias luna (thin and papery). The cocoon is spun in leaf litter on the ground or falls to the ground with the hosts leaves in fall.

adult eclosion occurs the following year

there may be more than one generation annually depending on area

Contributed by Bill Reynolds on 2 March, 2010 - 3:49pm
Additional contributions by Bob Patterson
Last updated 5 October, 2010 - 3:18pm

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 © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Printer Friendly Version