The io moth has a long list of host plants, with over 100 recorded plant genera in North America, including such diverse plants as roses, cotton, hibiscus, azaleas, willows, clover, and palms. In Florida, io moth larvae are commonly found on oaks and other hardwoods. [3] I'll say let's go ahead and add Coconut (Cocos nucifera), as a larval food in Florida!!!!
Early instar larvae of the io moth, Automeris i0 11-26-2008
Second instar larva of the io moth caterpillar, Automeris io 12-10-2008
Final instar larva of the io moth caterpillar, Automeris io
Adult Io Moths Female(top)and male(below)
photo courtesy of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Automeris_ioFMPCCA20040704-2974B1.jpg
Original photo by Patrick Coin
Family/Subfamily: Saturniidae/Hemileucinae •
Genus: Automeris •
Species/SubSpecies: io/lilith •
Common Names: Io Moth •
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Io_moth
[2] http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/io_moth.htm
[3] http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/io_moth.htm
Io Moth Caterpillars by Eric Bronson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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