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Ornate Bella Moth
Utetheisa ornatrix
Utetheisa ornatrix, also called the ornate bella moth, ornate moth, bella moth or rattlebox moth, is a moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. It is aposematically colored ranging from pink, red, orange and yellow to white coloration with black markings arranged in varying patterns on its wings. It has a wingspan of 33–46 mm. Moths reside in temperate midwestern and eastern North America as well as throughout Mexico and other parts of Central America. Unlike most moths, the bella moth is diurnal. Formerly, the bella moth or beautiful utetheisa of temperate eastern North America was separated as Utetheisa bella. Now it is united with the bella moth in Utetheisa ornatrix.
The larvae usually feed on Crotalaria species, which contain poisonous alkaloid compounds that render them unpalatable to most predators. Larvae may prey on other bella moth larvae in order to compensate for any alkaloid deficiency.
From the article Utetheisa ornatrix on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Range & habitat
Utetheisa ornatrix is found from southeastern United States to South America (southeast Brazil). In the southeastern United States, its distribution ranges from Connecticut westward to southeastern Nebraska and southward to southern New Mexico and Florida. This species is found to be more common in more tropical parts of this range, in accordance to the availability of its host plant in more southern regions. It is also found throughout Mexico, South America, and Central America.
Wikipedia: “Distribution”
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Every page naming Utetheisa ornatrix in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 67440.