Io Moth Automeris io (Fabricius) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)
Male Io moth, Automeris io (Fabricius).
view on EDIS
PDF-2014

Keywords

Featured Creatures collection
Family: Saturniidae (giant silkmoths, royal moths, emperor moths, etc)
Stinging and Venomous Caterpillars
Moths
IN1065

How to Cite

Hall, Donald W. 2015. “Io Moth Automeris Io (Fabricius) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae): EENY606/IN1065, 12/2014”. EDIS 2015 (3). Gainesville, FL:12. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-in1065-2014.

Abstract

The beautiful Io moth is one of our most recognizable moths, because of its prominent hind wing eyespots. The attractive Io moth caterpillar is also well-known because of its painful sting. But like many of the other saturniid moths, is less common now in parts of its range. With the exception of Cape Cod and some of the Massachusetts islands, it is now rare in New England where it was once common, and its populations have declined in most of the Gulf States since the 1970s. This 12-page fact sheet was written by Donald W. Hall, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, December 2014. (Photo: Donald W. Hall, UF/IFAS) 

EENY608/IN1065: Io Moth Automeris io (Fabricius) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) (ufl.edu)

https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-in1065-2014
view on EDIS
PDF-2014

References

Abbott J, Smith JE. 1797. Natural History of the Rarer Lepidopterous Insects of Georgia. Vol. 1. Bensley, London. 100 pp.

Alvarez FJ. 2014 The effect of chitin size, shape, source and purification method on immune recognition. Molecules 19(4): 4433-4451. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules19044433

Arnaud PH. 1978. A Host-Parasite Catalog of North American Tachinidae (Diptera). United States Department of Agriculture Miscellaneous Publication 1319. Washington, D.C.

Battisti A, Holm G,Fagrell B, Larsson S. 2011. Urticating hairs in arthropods: their nature and medical significance. Annual Review of Entomology 56: 203-220. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120709-144844

Beadle D, Leckie S. 2012. Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America. Houghton Mifflin. New York, N. Y. 611 pp.

Blest AD. 1957. The function of eyespot patterns in the Lepidoptera. Behaviour 11(2/3): 209-255. https://doi.org/10.1163/156853956X00048

Collins MM, Weast RD. 1961. Wild Silkmoths of the United States: Saturniinae. Experimental Studies and Observations of Natural Living Habits and Relationships. 1961. Collins Radio Company. Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 138 pp.

Covell CV. 2005. A Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America. Special Publication Number 12. Virginia Museum of Natural History. Martinsville, Virginia. 496 pp.

Covell CV. 2012. A striking aberrant Automeris io. Association for Tropical Lepidoptera Notes. p. 4. Gainesville, Florida.

Da Silva CA, Chalouni C, Williams A, Hartl D, Lee CG, Elias JA. 2009. Chitin is a size-dependent regulator of macrophage TNF and IL-10 production. Journal of Immunology 182(6): 3573-3582. https://doi.org/10.4049/jimmunol.0802113

Diaz JH. 2005. The evolving global epidemiology, syndromic classification, management, and prevention of caterpillar envenoming. American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 72(3): 347-357. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.2005.72.347

Eisner T, Eisner M, Siegler M. 2005. Chapter 63. Class Insecta, Order Lepidoptera, Family Saturniidae, Automeris io, the Io moth. pp. 292-296. In: Secret Weapons: Defenses of Insects, Spiders, Scorpions, and Other Many-legged Creatures. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Massachusetts. 372 pp.

Eliot IM, Soule CG. 1902. Caterpillars and their Moths. Century. New York. 302 pp.

Everson GW, Chapin JB, Normann SA. 1990. Caterpillar envenomations: a prospective study of 112 cases. Veterinary and Human Toxicology 32: 114-119.

Fabricius IC. 1775. Systema Entomologiae. Officina Libraria Kortii. Flensburgi et Lipsiae. 832 pp.

Ferguson DC. 1972. The Moths of North America. Fascicle 20.2B. Bombycoidea. Saturniidae (Part). Classey. Hampton, England. pp. 157-162.

Fullard JH, Napoleone N. 2001. Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defenses in the Macrolepidoptera. Animal Behaviour 62(2): 349-368. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2001.1753

Gilmer PM. 1925. A comparative study of the poison apparatus of certain lepidopterous larvae. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 18: 203-239. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/18.2.203

Godfrey GL, Jeffords M, Appleby JE. 1987. Saturniidae (Bombycoidea). In Stehr FW. (ed.). Immature Insects. Kendall/Hunt. Dubuque, Iowa. pp. 513-521.

Goldman L, Sawyer F, Levine A, Goldman J, Goldman S, Spinanger J. 1960. Investigative studies of skin irritations from caterpillars. Journal of Investigative Dermatology 34(1): 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1038/jid.1960.11

Heppner JB, (ed.). 1996. Automeris. pp. 36-39. In: Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera. Checklist: Part 4b. Drepanoidea - Bombycoidea - Sphingoidea. Association for Tropical Lepidopera & Scientific Publishers Gainesville, FL. 87 pp.

Heppner JB. 2003. Lepidoptera of Florida. Part 1. Introduction and Catalog. Volume 17 of Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas. Division of Plant Industry. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Gainesville, Florida. 670 pp.

Hessel SA. 1964. A bilateral gynandromorph of Automeris io (Saturniidae) taken at mercury vapor light in Connecticut. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 18: 27-31.

Hossler EW. 2009. Caterpillars and moths. Dermatologic Therapy 22: 353-366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8019.2009.01247.x

Hossler EW. 2010. Caterpillars and moths. Part II. Dermatologic manifestations of encounters with Lepidoptera. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology 62: 13-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2009.08.061

Hossler EW, Elston DM, Wagner DL. 2008. What's eating you? Io moth (Automeris io). Cutis 82: 21-24.

Hughes G, Rosen T. 1980. Automeris io (caterpillar) dermatitis. Cutis 26: 71-73.

Krombein KV, Hurd Jr. PD, Smith DR, Burks BD. 1979. Catalog of Hymenoptera in America North of Mexico. Volume 1. Symphyta and Apocrita (Parasitica). Smithsonian Institution Press. Washington, D.C. 1198 pp.

Lintner JA. 1872. Transformations of Hyperchiria io (Fabricius). From the twenty-third annual report of the New York State Cabinet of Natural History. Appendix E. Entomological Contributions of J.A. Lintner. Weed, Parsons. Albany, N.Y. pp. 146-148. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.17684

Manley TR. 1971. Two mosaic gynandromorphs of Automeris io (Saturniidae). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 25: 234-238.

Manley TR. 1990(1991). Heritable color variants in Automeris io (Saturniidae). Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 29(1-2): 37-53.

Manley TR. 1993. Diapause, voltinism, and foodplants of Automeris io (Saturniidae) in the southeastern United States. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 47(4): 303-321.

Mosher E. 1914. The classification of the pupae of the Ceratocampidae and Hemileucidae. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 7(4): 277-300. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/7.4.277

Mosher E. 1916. A classification of the Lepidoptera based on characters of the pupae. Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History 12:17-159. https://doi.org/10.21900/j.inhs.v12.348

Murphy SM, Leahy SM, Williams LS, Lill JT. 2010. Stinging spines protect slug caterpillars (Limacodidae) from multiple generalist predators. Behavioral Ecology 21: 153-160. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arp166

O'Hara JE. 2013. Taxonomic and host catalogue of the Tachinidae of America north of Mexico. (Last update: 10 December 2013)

Packard AS. 1914. Monograph of the Bombycine Moths of North America, Including Their Transformations and Origin of the Larval Markings and Armature. Part 3. Families Ceratocampidae, (exclusive of Ceratocampinae), Saturniidae, Hemileucidae, and Brahmeidae. Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences Volume 12. 515 pp. + 113 plates. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.8961

Pease RW. 1961. A study of first instar larvae of the Saturniidae, with special reference to Nearctic genera. Journal of the Lepidopterist's Society 14: 89-111.

Peigler RS. 1994 (1996). Catalog of parasitoids of Saturniidae of the world. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 33: 1-121.

Pelaia A. 2014. Where does the legend of Lilith come from? http://judaism.about.com/od/jewishculture/a/Where-Does-The-Legend-Of-Lilith-Come-From.htm

Peterson A. 1965. Some eggs of moths among the Sphingidae, Saturniidae, and Citheroniidae (Lepidoptera). Florida Entomologist 48: 213-219. https://doi.org/10.2307/3493773

Plants Database. 2014. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. http://plants.usda.gov/java/

Powell JA, Opler PA. 2009. Moths of Western North America. University of California Press. Berkeley, California. 369 pp. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520943773

Robinson GS, Ackery PR, Kitching IJ, Beccaloni GW, Hernández LM. HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. (17 September 2014)

Rosen T. 1990. Caterpillar dermatitis. Dermatological Clinics 8(2): 245-252. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0733-8635(18)30496-0

Russi K, Friedl F, Russi H. 1973. Queuing and rosette molting in Automeris io (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Entomological News 84(2): 33-36.

Sourakov A. 2013. Larvae of io moth, Automeris io, on the coral bean, Erythrina herbacea, in Florida - the limits of polyphagy. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 67(4): 291-298. https://doi.org/10.18473/lepi.v67i4.a6

Sourakov A. 2014. On the polymorphism and polyphenism of Automeris io (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in North Florida. Tropical Lepidoptera Research 24(1): 52-58.

Soule CG. 1891. The march of Hyperchiria io. Psyche 6: 15. https://doi.org/10.1155/1891/47691

Stratton-Porter G. 1921. Moths of the Limberlost. Doubleday, Page. Garden City, New Jersey. 369 pp.

Strecker H. 1872. Lepidoptera, Rhopaloceres and Heteroceres, Indigenous and Exotic; with Descriptions and Colored Illustrations. Owen's Steam Book & Job Printing Office. Reading, Pennsylvania. 143 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9929

Tietz HM. 1972. An Index to the Described Life Histories, Early Stages and Hosts of the Macrolepidoptera of the Continental United States and Canada. Part 1. The Allyn Museum of Entomology. Sarasota, Florida. (Distributed by Entomological Reprint Specialists. Los Angeles, California). 536 pp.

Tuskes PM, Tuttle JP, Collins MM. 1996. The Wild Silk Moths of North America. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, New York. 250 pp. https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501738005

Villiard P. 1975. Moths and How to Rear Them. Dover. New York, New York. 242 pp.

Wagner DL. 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press. Princeton, New Jersey. 512 pp.

Worth CB. 1980. An elegant harness for tethering large moths. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 61-63.

License