Ornate Bella Moth Utetheisa ornatrix (Linnaeus, 1758)    Synonyms: Bella Moth, Hodges #8105, Ornate Moth, Rattlebox Moth, Utetheisa bella, Utetheisa ornatrix bella.
Kingdom Animalia   >   Phylum Arthropoda   >   Class Insecta   >   Order Lepidoptera   >   Family Erebidae   >   Genus Utetheisa   

Status:

U. bella and U. ornatrix were recently lumped into this species, making it the only member of its genus in North America.

Relationships:

Larvae feed primarily on rattlebox (Crotalaria), which imparts adults, larvae, and eggs with a chemical defense against would-be predators.

There are 19 records in the project database.

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An Ornate Bella Moth in Worcester Co., Maryland (10/6/2012). Photo by Rob Ostrowski. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (11/1/2004). Photo by Arlene Ripley. (MBP list)

Ornate Bella Moth in Prince George's Co., Maryland (6/12/2018). (c) Hans Holbrook, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Hans Holbrook. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth in Worcester Co., Maryland (10/13/2012). Photo by Dave Czaplak. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth in Montgomery Co., Maryland (8/5/2017). Photo by Steve Scholnick. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (9/30/2018). Photo by Bonnie Ott. (MBP list)

Ornate Bella Moth in Worcester Co., Maryland (11/11/2023). (c) Jonathan Irons, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Jonathan Irons via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth collected in Baltimore Co., Maryland (10/7/1993). Photo by John Glaser. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth (dorsal) at the Archbold Biological Station, FL (3/30/2011). Photo by Bob Patterson. (MBP list)

An Ornate Bella Moth (ventral) at the Archbold Biological Station, FL (3/30/2011). Photo by Bob Patterson. (MBP list)


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