Eyespots in Automeris Moths Mimic Sympatric Owl Species (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

Eyespot mimicry is a well-documented anti-predatory strategy in many insects, particularly in moths. In the genus Automeris, species possess hindwing eyespots that resemble owl eyes, serving to startle the moth's predators. However, the mechanism by which Automeris eyespots function as a deterrent to moth predators is unresolved. Two hypotheses dominate the literature for eyespots broadly. First, that eyespots function as mimics of owl eyes with the rationale that the moth's predators are prey for owls and would avoid anything that looks like an owl. Alternatively, eyespots could be deterring due to their conspicuousness but are not mistaken for eyes. In this study, we investigate the mimicry hypothesis using species distribution models, artificial intelligence, and saliency mapping to assess whether Automeris eyespots are mimicking the eyes of sympatric owls. Geographic analyses reveal range overlap between Automeris species and co-occurring owls, supporting the opportunity for mimicry-driven selection. Our convolutional neural network (CNN) based confusability analysis demonstrates that Automeris eyespots are frequently misclassified as owl eyes, providing quantitative evidence for their visual similarity. Saliency heat map analyses on images of owls and moths showed high levels of confusion in the eyespot area and glimmer of moths and the eyes and beaks of owls. Our data suggest that Automeris eyespots are likely mimics, contributing to predator avoidance through deimatic behavior. This study highlights the potential for AI to provide new insights into the evolution of defensive traits in predator-prey interactions.