Automeris louisiana

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58chevy
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Automeris louisiana

Post by 58chevy »

Has anybody heard whether A. louisiana survived the 2022 hurricanes? With the arctic cold front also on the way, I'm worried the species could be in danger.
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vabrou
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by vabrou »

Since it survived for centuries earlier, no doubt it is still with us. The moth occurs in near the immediate adjacent coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico from east Texas, all across Louisiana coastal areas, to western coastal areas of Mississippi. All that BS from the Feds and other misguided fools is just that, BS. Using BS to convince uninformed people they are doing a good thing by declaring species as being endangered and listing it as protected is what they do to justify their jobs, nothing more. It is all meaningless unsubstantiated BS in reality. I first discovered this species in 1975 near Golden Meadow, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana and later described it in 1981. Actually, this species was collected long before I discovered it and described it. But, no one recognized this species as being something new. It is not endangered nor will it be as long as the natural foodplant, a common species of marsh grass: Spartina alterniflora exists. Automeris io lilith (Strecker) has 4 annual broods in Louisiana and occurs in no coastal areas of the same states mentioned earlier. But, Automeris louisiana may have 6 or more annual broods (unpublished). The best time to collect it in large numbers is at the peak of the first brood throughout February. 15 years ago I posted a photo taken in 2005 illustrating the mostly treeless habitat of Automeris louisiana, link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/48007634@N02/ I reared this species numerous times on numerous common foodplants, trees and grasses of all types. Attached is an image of a male and female, and a mature larvae reared on Prunus serotina. Generally, one can rear most all of the many dozens of species of the genus Automeris from North, Central, and South America on common and abundant foodplants. But surprisingly, all of those other foodplants do not occur where A. louisiana is found. On that same Flicker page are two of the over 400 other new species of Louisiana moths we have discovered. One e.g. Lithophane abita Brou & Lafontaine existed for 98 years in museum collections but no one knew what it was or what to do with it. My Louisiana Type series was (268 specimens) 129 males and 139 females all captured here at my home near Abita Springs, hence the name Lithophane abita. I confirmed L. abita occurs in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The suspected host plant is bald cypress, Taxodium distichum Rich. Also on that page is another species that was only known from a single specimen collected by the well known lepidopterist, the late Douglas Ferguson 30 years earlier in South Carolina. Then I captured a series of 20 adults of this winter noctuid here at our home, and then I described it Chaetaglaea fergusoni Brou.
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Automeris louisiana, Lafourche Parish, Louisiana adj 2019.jpg
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58chevy
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by 58chevy »

Many thanks for the reply, Vernon. I'm sure I captured a few A. louisiana when I was a kid in the 1950s, but I assumed they were A. io. My grandparents had a camp on Grand Isle and I often wandered around the island looking for bugs. Unfortunately I have only one specimen left from those days (a female).
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by MIKELOCK34 »

Automeris louisiana is still the most common Saturnid and most common moth in general that I have encountered from anywhere around the world.
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kevinkk
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by kevinkk »

MIKELOCK34 wrote: Fri Apr 07, 2023 1:32 pm Automeris louisiana is still the most common Saturnid and most common moth in general that I have encountered from anywhere around the world.
That's because you've never seen an outbreak of Coloradia pandora.
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by jellybean »

IMG_4612.JPG
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A few Coloradia pandora at sheet in Oregon
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by Chuck »

jellybean wrote: Sun Apr 09, 2023 11:52 am IMG_4612.JPG

A few Coloradia pandora at sheet in Oregon
I've heard of this type of happening with overwhelming monotypical showings at lights, but never actually seen a photo of it. Impressive, though I'm sure frustrating.
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kevinkk
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by kevinkk »

2 year life cycle. I see the date on the photo-
I went through LaPine in '17.
What is just as incredible are amounts of larva, too bad it's not more of an attractive animal.
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Re: Automeris louisiana

Post by billgarthe »

Years ago I had the distinct pleasure to collect A. louisiana in the exact spot it was discovered and I was fortunate to have met and blacklighted with Vernon and Mike. I got a call from Mike that they on the wing and, within an hour or two, was on my way from n. IL to LA to setup. I also got some ova and reared them for a couple of years on wild cherry and (believe it or not) grass from the ditches where I live in the winter. Note the cocoons at bottom….some were wrapped in cherry leaves and others in grass. This is one of my favorite moths and collecting and rearing them was a highlight for me. Both Mike and Vernon were great hosts and I appreciate all they did. I have two 24” x 24” drawers of these and even reared up a gigantic female at lower right. Those were two magical nights.
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