Automeris moloneyi Druce larvae feed on oil palm leaflets

"Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis Jacq., is one of the most important oil crops in Mexico. The study aimed to record herbivory, damage, and taxonomic identity of Automeris moloneyi Druce 1897 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in nine commercial oil palm plantations at Tabasco, Mexico. In each plantation, 30 palm trees were selected in which A. moloneyi was searched for and collected every 3 months, from September 2019 to November 2020. At each sampling, the leaf surface of four fronds in the lower-middle part of the plant canopy was examined. A. moloneyi larvae fed on oil palm leaflets, abundance was low (0.003 to 0.103 larva per frond), and damage was localized (few plants). Most larvae per frond were recorded during the wettest time of the year in the study area. This is the first record of A. moloneyi in oil palm. The finding extends the geographical distribution of the species in the Neotropical region of the world. Probable factors that might be involved in low occurrence and damage of the species in the oil palm agroecosystem of the study area were discussed."