PhotoFeed Contest - Round 125 // Macrophotography of a future moth

3 days ago

Greetings dear friends, welcome to my blog. Today is my first publication in this community, I have decided to participate in the PhotoFeed Contest, macro photography. This type of photography is one of my favorites because I find it fascinating to see in detail such small species as if they were giants.

One day while checking my crotalaria plants, I looked closely at their branches and found several caterpillars. I told a friend about them and she told me that they were future butterflies. Then, I started to investigate and these caterpillars are really future moths of the species “Ornate Bella Moth”. This moth is usually nocturnal, however, I was able to observe it during the day on a few occasions, they are cute, white with red to orange edges, I can't really define the color. Unfortunately I do not have photos of the moth, but I do have photos of the larvae which I think are very pretty.

They are quite tiny, with many beautiful and bright colors that combine perfectly, yellow, black bands, white spots and red, which is the color of their head. Their favorite food is the crotalaria plant, whose main attraction is its particular yellow flowers. On this plant the adult moths lay their eggs to ensure food for their babies. The caterpillars of the “Ornate Bella Moth” are hairy and can be toxic or cause allergies, so it is best not to touch them. Sometimes, I see them wandering around other plants, maybe they move and land on other leaves.