Moth of the Month - The Io Moth...

The giant silkworm moths in the family Saturniidae are some of the most spectacular moths going. I've already featured a couple of species in earlier blogs but here is one of my favorites. The Io Moth is one of the smaller silkmoths but what it lacks in size in more than makes up with it's striking patten. It is fairly common in southern Ontario where reasonable tracts of woodland persist. The larvae feed on a variety of host plants, including birches, elms, maples and willows. A generalist you could say.


This is a male. A bit smaller than the female and mostly bright yellow in colour. This individual was photographed near Parry Sound, Ontario.


This is the more reddish female. This one was photographed near South Walsingham, Ontario. Don't you just love those vivid eye spots on the hind wings!