Bella moth
The bella moth is a bright, pretty moth with pink, yellow or orange wings covered in rows of black and white spots. Unlike most moths, it flies during the day. Its bright colours warn hungry animals that it tastes horrible.
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Fun facts
Spiders that catch a bella moth quickly let it go again, unharmed, because it tastes so bad.
When it is disturbed, it makes a bitter foam from its head.
Caterpillars compete to get a whole seed pod for themselves, because the seeds hold the most poison.
The poison the caterpillar collects stays in its body and still protects it when it becomes a moth.
A grown caterpillar is orange and brown with black bands and is 30 to 35 millimetres long.
Most asked questions about Bella moth
?Is the bella moth poisonous?
It carries poison from the plants it ate as a caterpillar, so animals that bite it get a nasty taste. It is harmless to touch.
?What does the bella moth caterpillar eat?
It eats rattlebox plants, especially their seeds.
?Does the bella moth fly during the day?
Yes. Unlike most moths, it is active in the daytime.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Utetheisa ornatrix
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Ornate bella moth, Ornate moth, Rattlebox moth
Where the facts come from
- Utetheisa ornatrix (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Zygy. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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