Southern Purple Mint Moth
Pyrausta laticlavia
Insecta
UNCOMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Warning Colors
- Status
- Uncommon
About
Southern Purple Mint Moth, Pyrausta laticlavia, is a moth of the family Crambidae that inhabits the United States from New Jersey south to Florida, west to Texas, Oklahoma and California. They are the largest of the Crambidae family, reaching 30mm in wingspan.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Crambidae
- Genus
- Pyrausta
- Species
- Pyrausta laticlavia