Utetheisa ornatrix: taxon details and analytics
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Erebidae
- Genus
- Utetheisa
- Species
- Utetheisa ornatrix
- Scientific Name
- Utetheisa ornatrix
Summary description from Wikipedia:
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.
The bella moth also demonstrates complex mating strategies and is thus an excellent model to study sexual selection. Females mate multiply and receive spermatophores containing sperm, nutrients and alkaloid compounds from numerous males as nuptial gifts. Females choose males according to the intensity of a courtship pheromone, hydroxydanaidal, and carry out a sperm selection process after copulation with various males.
...Utetheisa ornatrix in languages:
- Dutch
- Ornate Moth
- English
- Ornate Bella Moth
- English
- Beautiful Utetheisa
- English
- Bella Moth
- English
- rattlebox moth
- French
- arctiide décoré
- Portuguese
- Mariposa-Ornatrix
Images from inaturalist.org observations:
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Parent Taxon
Sibling Taxa
- Utetheisa abraxoides
- Utetheisa aegrotum
- Utetheisa amhara
- Utetheisa antennata
- Utetheisa assamica
- Utetheisa balinensis
- Utetheisa clareae
- Utetheisa completa
- Utetheisa connerorum
- Utetheisa cruentata
- Utetheisa devriesi
- Utetheisa dilutior
- Utetheisa disrupta
- Utetheisa diva
- Utetheisa elata
- Utetheisa fractifascia
- Utetheisa galapagensis
- Utetheisa guttulosa
- Utetheisa henrii
- Utetheisa inconstans
- Utetheisa kallima
- Utetheisa lactea
- Utetheisa leucospilota
- Utetheisa lotrix
- Utetheisa macklotti
- Utetheisa maddisoni
- Utetheisa okinawensis
- Utetheisa ornatrix
- Utetheisa papuana
- Utetheisa pectinata
- Utetheisa pellex
- Utetheisa perryi
- Utetheisa pulchella
- Utetheisa pulchelloides
- Utetheisa salomonis
- Utetheisa selecta
- Utetheisa semara
- Utetheisa separata
- Utetheisa specularis
- Utetheisa sumatrana
- Utetheisa timorensis
- Utetheisa varians
- Utetheisa variolosa
Top Observation Places
- Savannah
- Oaxaca
- Santa Cruz Xoxocotlán
- Irapuato
- Tepic
- St. Petersburg
- Palm Bay
- Álvaro Obregón
- Coyoacán
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- North Miami
- Fountainebleau
- Kendale Lakes
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