Io Moth

moth · North America · colorful wings · eyespots

Peacock-like eyespots. The Io moth has huge, bright eyespots on its wings that look like a peacock's eyes, which is why it's also called the peacock moth. These fake eyes scare away predators who think they're looking at a much bigger animal.

Boldly colorful wings. The Io moth is covered in striking colors like yellows, greens, purples, and reds. These bright colors warn predators that the moth caterpillars are poisonous and spiky, so the grown-up moth keeps those warning colors too.

Spread across two countries. Io moths live across much of Canada and the United States, from the far north in Manitoba and Canada's Atlantic coast, all the way south to Florida and across to Montana and New Mexico.

Named after mythology. The moth's scientific name, Automeris io, comes from Greek mythology, where Io was a beautiful mortal woman loved by Zeus, the king of the gods.

Described long ago. A scientist named Johan Christian Fabricius first officially described and named this moth way back in 1775, nearly 250 years ago.