The Ornate Bella Moth is a Florida native moth and a beautiful one at that.
Their colors are very unique. Their wings are of a beautiful subtle orange color with naturally placed black spots surrounded by a white border. Their body base is white with black spots. These color combinations truly make this moth the most identifiable as well as unique.
The pink is more dominant when their wings are open. From my observation, their time in flight is not long as well as their distance landing at the nearest plant.
Ornate Bella Moth gathers nectar from a Desert False Indigo | Alice Mary Herden
Photographing these moths are relatively easy once it has landed and focused on gathering nectar. The best photo is to catch the moth with its wings open, but you have to be patient and quick.
Their host plant is in the Fabaceae ((pea or bean) family, however, their true host plant are species in the Crotalaria plants
Only four species of Crotalaria are native to the southeastern U.S. of which two occur in Florida — Avon Park rattlebox (Crotalaria avonensis DeLaney & Wunderlin), which is restricted to Florida, and rabbitbells (Crotalaria rotundifolia J.F. Gmel.).
http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/beneficial/leps/bella_moth.htm
Categories: Moths, Native Plants, Native to Florida, Nature Photography
Florida Nature 