Orange mint moth
Pyrausta orphisalis
The orange mint moth is a tiny moth with orange spots. Its wings are less than 2 centimetres across. Its caterpillars love mint plants, so it often lives where mint grows.
Lives in
North America, from Newfoundland to British Columbia and south to Florida and New Mexico
Wingspan
1.5 to 1.7 cm (0.59 to 0.67 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat different kinds of mint, including bee balm.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 42 seconds
How big is Orange mint 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)
Orange mint moth about 9.1 km/h (5.7 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
It flies from the middle of June to the end of July.
2
Bee balm, one of its food plants, is a mint with bright flowers that bees love.
3
It lives across a huge area of North America.
you asked
Most asked questions about Orange mint moth
?What does the orange mint moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat mint plants, including bee balm.
?How big is the orange mint moth?
Its wings measure about 15 to 17 millimetres from tip to tip.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pyrausta orphisalis
- Named by
- Walker, 1859
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Crambidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Crambidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Orange-spotted pyrausta
Where the facts come from
- Pyrausta orphisalis (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 Bernie Paquette. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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