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| | io moth - Automeris io (Fabricius) |
 | | The urticating or "stinging" spines and setae of some caterpillars are a well-known chemical defense found in several families of Lepidoptera, especially Megalopygidae, Limacodidae, Saturniidae, and a few Nymphalidae, Anthelidae, Lasiocampidae, Bombycidae, Eupterotidae, Lymantriidae, Arctiidae, and Noctuidae (Matheson 1950, Riley and Johannsen 1938, Roth and Eisner 1962, Wirtz 1984). |
 | | Toxicity in Lepidoptera is also found in adults, where scales may be urticating in some families (Notodontidae: Thaumetopoeinae), Lymantriidae, Arctiidae, and Saturniidae) or where integumental glands produce an urticating chemical (Zygaenidae and Arctiidae) (Rothschild et al. |
 | | Other hairy caterpillars are not known to cause reactions to persons of average sensitivity. |
| creatures.ifas.ufl.edu /misc/io_moth.htm (1055 words) |
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