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Project Noah Nature School
Utetheisa ornatrix
White moth with orange and black patterns. Black and white legs.
Where the host plant, various species of Crotalaria, grow.
Crotalaria contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Larva feed briefly the foliage then bore into immature seed pods and feed on the seeds which contain the highest concentration of alkaloids. These alkaloids render the larva, pupa, adults and eggs toxic and repellant to predators.
Spotted on Oct 28, 2020
Submitted on Oct 30, 2020
3 Comments
A beautiful moth. I wish they were all as easy to identify as this one.
Hi tomk3886, I love this moth. We have one that looks very close to it here in Philippines. The one here is called Utetheisa pulchelloides and it was one of the little creatures that helped capture my interest in wild life. If I didn't look really carefully, I would probably think your moth and mine were the same. Over here, their "host plant" is Heliotropium indicum, locally called Trompang Elephante (Elephant's Trunk). Isn't P.N. just great. We can talk to each other about our plants and animals, no matter where we are in then world. John B.
Amazing colors on that moth, Thanks for sharing.