io moth

Information about the Io Moth:

The Io Moth is a North American member of the Saturniidae family. This colorful moth's range is from from the southeast corner of Manitoba and in the southern extremes of Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick in Canada, and in the US it is found from Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, east of those states and down to the southern end of Florida. The Io Moth has a wingspan of about 2.5-3.5 inches (63-88 mm). The species is sexually dimorphic, males having bright yellow forewings, body, and legs, while the females have reddish brown forewings, body, and legs. Males have much bigger plumose (feathery) antennae than the females. Common to both sexes are the distinctive large black to bluish eyespot with some white in the center, on each hindwing. These spots serve as a defense mechanism meant to frighten off potential predators, especially when the moth is in the head-down position. The poster is printed on matte, museum-quality paper with Giclée printing quality: • Paper thickness: 10.3 mil • Paper weight: 5.6 oz/y² (192 g/m²) • Opacity: 94% Buy a Digital Download