Moth Week 2: Orange Mint Moth

Orange Mint Moth:  Pyrausta orphisalis Walker, 1859  

If you saw this colourful little moth fluttering around your spearmint, I suppose you needn't be please. It's larvae do feed on members of the mint family. But, I can't say that I've ever noticed any damage, although the moth is a regular inhabitant of the Home Bug Garden. If they start chewing on the Gardenview Scarlet Monarda I just planted, well, maybe I'll exert some natural selection, but otherwise it just another organism trying to survive in the Big City.

Pyrausta orphisalis Walker, 1859

Orange Mint Moth, Oranged-Spotted Pyrausta

Crambidae – Snout Moths

Wingspan 15-17 mm

Caterpillars feed on members of the mint family including Monarda

http://bugguide.net/node/view/9724

http://entomology.museums.ualberta.ca/searching_species_details.php?fsn=Pyrausta+orphisalis&sb=1&r=1&o=1&c=2&s=6266&sn=Pyrausta+orphisalis