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The Saturniidae is one of the most emblematic families of moths, comprising nearly 3000 species distributed globally. In this study, DNA barcode analysis and comparative morphology were combined to describe three new species within the genusAutomeris, which is the most diverse genus in the family.Automeris llanerosDecaëns, Rougerie & Bonilla,sp. nov.,Automeris minerosDecaëns, Rougerie & Bonilla,sp. nov., andAutomeris belemensisDecaëns, Rougerie & Bénéluz,sp. nov.are described from the Colombian Orinoco watershed, the Colombian Eastern Cordillera, and the area of endemism of Belém in the Brazilian Amazonia, respectively. They all belong to theAutomeris bilinea(Walker, 1855) species subgroup, which comprises a number of species that are sometimes difficult to distinguish from each other using morphology alone. Here, the description of these three new species is based on significant differences from their closest relatives, either in terms of wing patterns, genitalia, DNA barcodes or a combination of these features.

The light-attracted silk moths (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) of the Boraceia Biological Station in the municipality of Salesópolis, state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil have been sampled over more than seven decades (1942-2013). A total of 6,288 individuals (including a gynandromorph) belonging to five subfamilies, 46 genera and 133 species were identified. Hemileucinae was the most abundant and speciesrich subfamily, followed by Ceratocampinae, Arsenurinae, Saturniinae, and Oxyteninae. Hylesia Hübner, Automeris Hübner, and Dirphiopsis Bouvier (Hemileucinae) were the dominant genera in abundance and species richness. Only Automeris illustris (Walker), Gamelia remissoides Lemaire, and Hidripa paranensis (Bouvier) (Hemileucinae) were recorded in all months of sampling. Hylesia metapyrrha (Walker) was the most abundant saturniid species recorded at the station, with 375 specimens, followed by Hylesia oratex Dyar with 265 specimens, Dirphia muscosa Schaus with 261 specimens (all Hemileucinae); Copaxa canella Walker (Saturniinae) with 232 specimens, and Lonomia cf. obliqua Walker (Hemileucinae) with 106 specimens. Fifteen additional species were each represented by more than 100 specimens. The importance of the Boraceia Biological Station to the maintenance of the saturniid moth diversity in the Atlantic Forest is discussed.

Automeris zozine (Druce) is a silk moth in the family Saturniidae whose larvae typically defoliate plants in the Fagaceae, Fabaceae, and Anacardiaceae families, but little is known about other host plants. We documented the species defoliating Macadamia integrifolia Maiden and Betche (Proteaceae) associated with a plantation of coffee (Coffea spp., Rubiaceae) in a mountainous mesophyll forest at Veracruz, Mexico.

Tachinid flies are well known as being parasitoids of arthropods, mostly insects. Because of this, there is great economic interest in the biological control of pests using tachinids. Host ...

We report a case of erucism provoked by the Automeris egeus Cramer caterpillar and update the distribution of caterpillar poisoning in Brazil, showing the regions with the highest incidence rates. We also correlated the incidence rate with anthropic impact rates in all Brazilian municipalities, taking as a reference the Human Footprint Index. The victim presented erucism, burning pain, itching, and local hyperthermia. The highest incidence rates were in southern Brazil. We suggest including A. egeus in the Brazilian list of animals with medical importance, and that Brazilian Ministry of Health indicates the genus of the animals involved in envenomation events on its platform.

A female of Automeris jucunda (Cramer, 1779) was collected during a field expedition to Otanche, Colombia. The rearing of this species was conducted in captivity, in situ and in the laboratory, on different food plants as the larvae revealed to be polyphagous. In Colombia, the larval phase lasted six weeks on Schizolobium parahyba S. F. Blake, 1919 (Fabaceae), a natural host plant of A. jucunda . Instead, in the laboratory the larval phase lasted more than eight weeks on Rubus fruticosus Linnaeus, 1753 (Rosaceae), a replacement food plant for this species. The gregarious larvae developed between five to six instars and can also cause erucism. The immature stages of A. jucunda are described together with food plants. Furthermore, short taxonomic notes on the A. hamata subgroup, which includes A. jucunda , are provided.

Sourakov, Andrei (2018): Size, spines and crochets: defences of luna moth caterpillars against predation by brown anoles. Journal of Natural History 52 (7-8): 483-490, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2018.1439540, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2018.1439540

Distributional records for some Saturniid taxa from the province of Misiones, NE Argentina, are given. The following species are reported for the first time for Argentina: Arsenura orbignyana (Guérin-Méneville, [1844]), Dysdaemonia brasiliensis Rothschild, 1907, Adeloneivaia s. subangulata (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855), Adeloneivaia cathari­na (Bouvier, 1927), Adeloneivaia fallax (Boisduval, 1872), Adelowalkeria tristygma (Boisduval, 1872), Scolesa viettei Travassos, 1959, Citioica anthonilis (Herrich-Schäffer, 1854), Oiticella convergens (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855), Ptiloscola cinerea (Schaus, 1900), Lonomia obliqua Walker, 1855, Leucanella memusae gardineri Lemaire, 1973 and Molippa sabina Walker, 1855. Some notes on Automeris illustris and Automeris amoena are given with particular reference to their distribution, variability and identification., Fragmenta Entomologica, Vol. 40 No. 1 (2008)

Pela primeira vez é apresentada uma lista de Lepidoptera registrados no município de Joaçaba, estado de Santa Catarina, Brasil. Os indivíduos foram coletados entre os anos de 2006 e 2010 em diferentes ambientes resultando em 58 espécies pertencentes a dez famílias. As famílias mais abundantes foram Nymphalidae e Saturniidae, representando 34,48% e 24,13% da riqueza de espécies respectivamente. Além disso, os gêneros mais representativos de Nymphalidae foram Morpho (três espécies) e Hamadryas (duas espécies), enquanto que em Saturniidae foram Rothschildia (três espécies) e Automeris (duas espécies). Butterflies and moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in the Municipality of Joaçaba, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil Abstract. For the first time is presented a list of Lepidoptera recorded in the municipality of Joaçaba, state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. The individuals were collected between the years 2006 and 2010 in different environments resulting in 58 species belonging to ten families. The most abundant families were Nymphalidae and Saturniidae, representing 34,48% and 24,13% of the species richness respectively. In addition, the most representative genera of Nymphalidae were Morpho (three species), and Hamadryas (two species), while in Saturniidae were Rothschildia (three species) and Automeris (two species).

Three species of Saturniidae (Hemileucinae), all belonging to Periga Walker, 1855, are recognized as new and are described as: P. paranapiacaba sp. nov., P. faustinoi sp. nov., and P. intervales sp. nov. The Periga gueneei species-group is proposed to accommodate P. gueneei (Lemaire, 1973) and the new species P. intervales sp. n. described here. The status of another Saturniidae species is revised: Automeris intermedius (Bouvier, 1929), stat. rev., which is removed from the synonymy with A . nubila Walker, 1855. Habitus and illustrations of male genitalia are provided for all new species and both Automeris species. All holotypes are deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Biodiversity of tropical Saturniidae, as measured through traditionally described and catalogued species, strongly risks pooling cryptic species under one name. We examined the DNA barcodes, morphology, habitus and ecology of 32 ‘well known’ species of dry forest saturniid moths from Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG) in north-western Costa Rica and found that they contain as many as 49 biological entities that are probably separate species. The most prominent splitting of traditional species – Eacles imperialis, Automeris zugana, Automeris tridens, Othorene verana, Hylesia dalina, Dirphia avia, Syssphinx molina, Syssphinx colla, and Syssphinx quadrilineata – is where one species was believed to breed in dry forest and rain forest, but is found to be two biological entities variously distinguishable by DNA barcodes and morphology, habitus, and/or microecological distribution. This implies that ‘standard’ biological information about each traditional species may be an unconscious mix of interspecific information, and begs renewed DNA barcoding, closer attention to so-called intraspecific variation, and increased museum collection and curation of specimens from more individual and ecologically characterised sites – as well as eventually more species descriptions. Simultaneously, this inclusion of sibling species as individual entities in biodiversity studies, rather than pooled under one traditional name, reduces the degree of ecological and evolutionary generalisation perceived by the observer.

The present study is concerned with the sequences of behaviour shown by a common Brazilian Saturniid moth, Automeris aurantiaca Weym, on emergence from the pupa (post-eclosion sequences) and in a simple experimental situation, in which display was induced repeatedly (display sequences). The sequences appear to have relatively little dependence on external stimuli, and in comparison with such material as the Salticid spiders studied by PRECHT (I952) and DREES (I952), whose behaviouriscontinuallydependent on and modified by constantly changing exteroceptive influences, their analysis is simple. The adult moths do not feed, and sexual responses may be inhibited by strong illumination; thus the number of interacting tendencies is limited. It was therefore hoped that an analysis of the relationships between the activities composing these sequences would make possible a hypothesis regarding their underlying organisation.

THE rhythmic rocking responses of Hemileucine moths may be released from insects which have been subjected to quite drastic surgical procedures1, but they have never been observed in decapitated preparations2. An attempt has now been made to investigate the role of the brain in mediating this response and in determining its quantitative strength, using the techniques of pupal surgery described by Williams3. One hundred female pupae of Automeris cinerea were chilled at 6°C. for eight weeks immediately following their reception from Argentina, and were then transferred daily (at 25° C.) in batches of five in order to break diapause. On the fifth to eighth day after transfer, they were chilled at 4° C. for 1 hr., anaesthetized in carbon dioxide for 30 min. while packed round with melting ice, and subjected to gross brain surgery through a window cut in the facial cuticle. After surgery, the pupae were sealed with the usual precautions3 and returned to 25°C. The yield in terms of histologically acceptable lesions was approximately 50 per cent. The surgical procedures, which were previously rehearsed on the large Indian Antherea mylitta, are summarized in Fig. 1. It may be noted that while procedure 1 results in blind moths the optic glomeruli II and III of which remain intact, procedure 2 ablates the entire optic complex, while sparing the medial lobes of the protocerebrum. Procedure 5 permits the development of a recognizable subœsophageal unit in isolation; while the resulting neuropil shows evidence of condensation, the normal features of its intrinsic organization may readily be recognized in favourably oriented sections, and moths so treated differ characteristically in their behaviour from those from which the subœsophageal ganglion has been extirpated.

PREVIOUS publications have described the relation between precurrent flight performance and the strength of a subsequent rhythmic settling response (‘rocking’) in the neotropical saturniid moth Automeris aurantiaca Weymer (Hemileucinae1)2. The strength of the rocking response, measured as the number of complete oscillations of the rhythm, increases linearly with duration of flight, and in the absence of further flight responses is stable to retesting for periods of at least 90 min. The mechanism by which flight performance is thus registered and expressed in the subsequent settling behaviour is of particular interest, for the relationship is similar to that between the flight activity of foraging honey-bees, and the rhythmic distance-specific components of the communication dance2

MOTHS of the neotropical Saturnioid family Hemileucidae perform a special movement on assuming the resting position from any preceding activity, which has been termed ‘rocking’1. It is rigidly co-ordinated, and consists of fast, rhythmic side-to-side oscillations of the entire animal. This movement is unique to the Hemileucidae, and appears to be a highly conservative character within that family, for it occurs in all species so far examined, irrespective of either size or mode of protective coloration2. Its function, if any, is unknown, but it is not concerned with the sexual responses of either sex, nor do the moths possess any known non-sexual social behaviour. The strength of this response may be scored as the number of complete oscillations performed; an analysis has shown that the strength of rocking executed by unconstrained moths of the Brazilian species Automeris aurantiaca Weym. is related to the nature of the sequence of acts preceding it1.