Automeris feeding on Ligustrum?

[Fernando]

Well, I had to go out for some days and my little brother took care of my larvae, which currently are just E. calleta and Automeris oaxacensis, both in a single enclosure (they are small in number).

I just got home and all but one Automerises have already spun their cocoons. But seems like my little brother didn't notice there was still a 7th instar larva left, and didn't put Robinia inside the enclosure for it to eat. To my surprise, the larva seems to be happily feeding on Ligustrum ovalifolium. Is that normal? Is it gonna survive?

[saturniidave]

Here in England Ligustrum is widely used for Automeris species. I personally have successfully reared A. io and A. naranja on it.
I reckon yours will be O.K.

[Fernando]

Really? I had no idea. Robinia is easy to find over here, but Ligustrum is even easier, so next time I rear Automeris I'll try with Ligustrum in first place.

[exoticleps]

I aggree with Dave, but I have had mixed results with Automeris on ligustrum. Some species seem to do fine on it, and others are a bit harder to convince. Even when they do start to feed on it, many times I find the development is very, very slow, and mortality can get high. This is further confusing, because ive had some clutches of Automeris do great on it, but with a different clutch of the same species, they developed too slowly.

good luck
Greg