Mint-loving pyrausta moth
Pyrausta acrionalis
Name means: “named after its caterpillars, which eat mint leaves”
The mint-loving pyrausta moth is a small moth from eastern North America. Its caterpillars have a favourite food: mint leaves. Open wide, its wings are less than 2 centimetres across.
Lives in
Eastern North America, from Ontario and Wisconsin down to Alabama and Georgia
Wingspan
1.4 to 1.8 cm (0.55 to 0.71 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of mint plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 40 seconds
How big is Mint-loving pyrausta moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Mint-loving pyrausta moth about 9.4 km/h (5.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
If you grow mint in eastern North America, its caterpillars might be nibbling the leaves.
2
It lives in many states, from New Hampshire and New York down to Mississippi and Alabama.
3
It belongs to the grass moth family, a big group of small moths.
you asked
Most asked questions about Mint-loving pyrausta moth
?Is the mint-loving pyrausta moth dangerous?
No. It is a small moth and cannot bite or sting.
?What does the mint-loving pyrausta moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat mint leaves.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pyrausta acrionalis
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Crambidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Crambidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Pyrausta acrionalis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by NCBioTeacher. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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