Moths of North Carolina
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Automeris Members:
335 NC Records

Automeris io (Fabricius, 1775) - Io Moth

Taxonomy
Superfamily: Bombycoidea Family: SaturniidaeSubfamily: HemileucinaeTribe: HemileuciniP3 Number: 890055.00 MONA Number: 7746.00
Comments: One of seven species in this genus found north of Mexico but the only one found east of the Appalachians (Tuskes et al., 1996). Ferguson (1971) recognized two subspecies along the Atlantic Slope: Automeris io io from Maine to South Carolina and A. io lilith from South Carolina to Florida and west to Louisiana. Tuskes et al. (1996), however, did not find any consistent geographic differences between these forms and did not recognize lilith as a distinct subspecies.
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Photographs: MPG, BugGuide, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1923), Ferguson (1971), Tuskes et al. (1996)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1923), Ferguson (1971), Covell (1984), Tuskes et al. (1996), Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Adults are unmistakeable: medium-large moths with yellow (males) or reddish-brown (females) forewings and large black, pale-centered eyespots on the hindwings.
Wingspan: 60 mm, males; 80 mm, females (Forbes, 1923)
Adult ID Requirements: Unmistakable and widely known.
Immatures and Development: The larvae, with their branched stinging spines, are only likely to be confused with those of the Buck Moth. Late instars are mostly green and possess a white-and-red stripe along the sides; in the Buck Moth, larvae are mostly dark brown, densely flecked with white dots, with some possessing a broad white stripe along the sides but no red striping (Wagner, 2005).
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Probably statewide except possibly the Outer Banks and other barrier islands.
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Flight Comments: Double-brooded in the Coastal Plain and possibly the Piedmont but apparently single-brooded in the Mountains.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: The Io moth occupies a wide variety of habitats throughout its range, including residential areas and croplands in addition to natural ecosystems (Ferguson, 1971; Tuskes et al., 1996; Wagner, 2005). In North Carolina, records are missing from the Outer Banks and barrier islands but otherwise include xeric sandhills and wet savanna, peatland, and bottomland habitats in the Coastal Plain; upland forests and lakeshores in the Piedmont, and dry to mesic slopes in the Low and High Mountains.
Larval Host Plants: Broadly polyphagous, feeding on many species of hardwood trees, shrubs, forbs, and graminoids; does not feed on conifers, however (Ferguson, 1971; Wagner, 2005). As of 2024, we have observed it feeding on oak, birch, hickory, Lespedeza, Wax-myrtle, sourwood, sassafras, and dogwood. It likely also uses many other genera of host plants in our state. See the below link for an extensive list of host plants. - View
Observation Methods: Adults of both sexes come well to blacklights and incandescent lights but since they do not feed, they do not come to bait. Larvae are gregarious in the earlier instars and are often quite conspicuous. Pupation occurs in leaf litter.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for General Forests and Fields
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 [S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments: Populations are locally vulnerable to the effects of weather, outbreaks of disease, parasites, and predators, and to the effects of pesticides. However, given the commonness of their host plants, wide habitat range -- including suburban areas -- and statewide distribution, this species can easily recover from localized losses. In the Northeast, however, this species is declining and becoming more localized in Connecticut and other areas where it once occurred (Wagner, 2012), possibly due to parasitism by a Tachinid fly, Compsilura concinnata, that was widely introduced in the Northeast to control Gypsy Moths and other pest Lepidoptera. This fly represents a serious and pervasive threat for many species of moths and is suspected to be responsible for the marked declines in several Saturniids. While such impacts have not yet been documented in North Carolina, Compsilura has spread as far south as Virginia (Kellogg et al., 2003) and will probably continue to expand its range southward. The situation in North Carolina needs to be monitored.

 Photo Gallery for Automeris io - Io Moth

143 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.

Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-08
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2024-07-08
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-29
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-23
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-23
Yancey Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-23
Yancey Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Stephen Dunn, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin on 2024-06-22
Chatham Co.
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Recorded by: Owen McConnell and Simpson Eason on 2024-06-21
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: R. Miller on 2024-06-21
Transylvania Co.
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Recorded by: Chuck Smith on 2024-06-20
Watauga Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Dean Furbish, Lior S. Carlson on 2024-06-17
Lincoln Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Steve Hall, Patrick Coin, Mark Basinger on 2024-06-16
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-02
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-06-01
Madison Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-05-31
Buncombe Co.
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Recorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-05-28
Graham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jim Petranka on 2024-05-28
Madison Co.
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Recorded by: David George, Rich Teper on 2023-09-25
Caswell Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Michelle Clark, Liam Clark, Daniel Clark on 2023-09-19
Moore Co.
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Recorded by: Michelle Clark, Liam Clark, Daniel Clark on 2023-09-19
Moore Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Michelle Clark, Liam Clark, Daniel Clark on 2023-09-19
Moore Co.
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Recorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-15
Buncombe Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: K. Bischof on 2023-09-10
Transylvania Co.
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Recorded by: David George on 2023-09-09
Chatham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George on 2023-09-08
Durham Co.
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Recorded by: David George on 2023-09-03
Durham Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik on 2023-09-01
Chatham Co.
Comment:
Recorded by: Stephen Hall on 2023-07-16
Orange Co.
Comment: 		Recorded by: Jeff Niznik on 2023-07-12
Chatham Co.
Comment: