| Utetheisa ornatrix | |
|---|---|
| Utetheisa "bella" imago | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Arctiidae |
| Genus: | Utetheisa |
| Species: | U. ornatrix |
| Binomial name | |
| Utetheisa ornatrix (Linnaeus, 1758) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Phalaena ornatrix Linnaeus, 1758 |
|
The Ornate Moth or Ornamented Utetheisa is a moth of the Arctiidae family. It is found across the Americas, except for Pacific North America, the Amazon Basin and adjacent regions, and the cold north and south. Formerly, the Bella Moth or Beautiful Utetheisa of temperate eastern North America was usually separated as Utetheisa bella; now it is united with the Ornate Moth in Utetheisa ornatrix.
The wingspan is 33-46 mm. The larvae feed on Crotalaria, Melilot and sometimes Comptonia species, which contain poisonous alkaloid compounds. As an adult, the moths extrude the compound in a frothy spit as a defense against predation.
Media related to Utetheisa bella at Wikimedia Commons