Io moth
Automeris io (Fabricius, 1775)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Hemileucinae
Identification: Upperside occasionally males from the spring brood will be mostly brown. 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).
Life History: Adults emerge during late morning or early afternoon, and mating takes place in the late evening. Females lay clumps of eggs on leaves or stems of the host plants. Young caterpillars feed together as a group and move in long "trains" while older caterpillars feed alone. Papery cocoons are spun in litter under the host plant or in crevices.
Flight: One brood in the north from May-June, two to three broods in the south from February-September, several broods throughout the year in the Florida Keys.
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.
Habitat: Deciduous forests, thorn scrub, and suburban areas.
Range: Maine west across southern Canada to southeastern Manitoba, the Dakotas, Nebraska, and Colorado; south to the Florida Keys, the Gulf states, Texas, and New Mexico; Mexico south to Costa Rico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 1194 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 09, 2019
Submitted by: MaxeyQwH
Region: Perry County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: Death_Cloud
Region: Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: Miya
Region: Ocean County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: Eddie Wyatt
Region: York County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 06, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 04, 2019
Observation date: Jun 29, 2019
Submitted by: Chuck Meier
Region: Dutchess County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Aug 27, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: Nmine4624
Region: Tucker County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 17, 2019
Submitted by: hackberry
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 19, 2019
Observation date: Aug 18, 2019
Submitted by: J Jessop
Region: Watauga County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 18, 2019
Observation date: Aug 16, 2019
Submitted by: Donna3186
Region: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 16, 2019
Observation date: Aug 11, 2019
Submitted by: Caranoid
Region: Denton County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 14, 2019
Observation date: Aug 01, 2019
Submitted by: Moobamoo
Region: Clay County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 13, 2019
Observation date: Aug 01, 2019
Submitted by: Susan Whitmer
Region: Jeff Davis County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 01, 2019
Observation date: Jul 24, 2019
Submitted by: Fetzkorn
Region: Giles County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 30, 2019
Observation date: Jul 19, 2019
Submitted by: Joe Bartok
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 20, 2019
Observation date: Jul 19, 2019
Submitted by: suomynona
Region: St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 19, 2019
Observation date: Jul 18, 2019
Submitted by: Cgardens1
Region: Hanover County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 19, 2019
Observation date: Jun 28, 2019
Submitted by: ashores
Region: Augusta County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 17, 2019
Observation date: Jul 08, 2019
Submitted by: The Micklow boys mom
Region: Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 09, 2019
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: MarieAline
Region: Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 07, 2019
Observation date: Jul 01, 2019
Submitted by: agdsquash
Region: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 06, 2019
Observation date: Jun 24, 2019
Submitted by: agdsquash
Region: Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 06, 2019
Observation date: Jul 04, 2019
Submitted by: missbec143
Region: Collin County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
Observation date: Jul 05, 2019
Submitted by: Kcollin5
Region: Allen County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
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