#mint moth

[unkn0wnvariable]

Feeding Mint Moth

A mint moth feeding on a forget-me-not flower in the morning sunlight.

[elodieunderglass]

Immigrating in adulthood means that I get the exciting experience of being surprised by life around me. I didn’t grow up with them, you see.

Yesterday the surprise came in the form of a moth the size of a thumbnail. I was hanging up laundry when I saw it - the first impression was a small fly, with a dense quickness and buzz. I could identify “moth” by its gestures, but I was enchanted by the brilliance of the graphic design - the sweet velvety purple-brown color set against the bright gold - and the gratified, lavish attention it was paying to my variegated oregano. It was tremendously excited by some mysterious property of that oregano. I mean, I get it too, but I hardly ever do an interpretive dance on it. It reminded me of a cat romping on a fresh catnip plant.

After research, I was happy to meet the MINT MOTH or SMALL PURPLE AND GOLD, which just goes to show that moth-namers - more than any other natural historians - understand the assignment. They give you two choices, both good, both descriptive, and conveying the essential character. Trustworthy folk, your moth people. My moth-fancying friend, who goes out of her way to meet new moths, has a Facebook album called Much Ado About Mothing and goes to local mothing meetings, sometimes posting the minutes, which only reinforces my take here; these people are trustworthy, diligent hands to place problems in.

I like the Linnean name too: Pyrausta aurata, the ‘aurata’ meaning gold-adorned, gilded; and Pyrausta possibly being a reference to a Greek mythological insect, which is exciting because you don’t get many mythological insects. but you’d better research that for yourself, as I didn’t see a single source I liked very much.

And best of all I liked the description of its habits. The Mint Moth loves mint and marjoram, and is a delightfully common visitor in gardens that grow these. In the wild, it follows watermint and wild marjoram. These plants form forage for its polite caterpillars, who barely affect the host plants at all. And if you have a garden in the uk with mint and marjoram, a very tiny creature the size of a thumbnail may come and roll around in it.

Now, I have mint and marjoram - but it really wanted that oregano, which was interesting to think about - something worth exploring and understanding better, even though it isn’t the food source of its caterpillars. Oregano is a member of the Lamiaceae family, which mint and marjoram belong to, so it clearly has something that mint moths like; and even though the marjoram is right next to it, it was clearly worthy of deep mothy investigation. Who knows what’s in the mind of a moth! I hope if any caterpillars emerge from this little dance, they’re happy with eating oregano…

Hurray for little visitors who bring surprises.

[indigrassy]

We go together like mint and thyme

[artsemisaro]

Hi all! Im participating in Moth May, started by Bluesky user Jess Taylor

The prompt for day one was a mint moth! I think they’re quite pretty :)

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

Mint Moth

Pyrausta aurata

[Right | Left]

The mint moth is a part of the family Crambidae, the grass moth family. It was first described in 1763 by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli (sometimes Latinized to Johannes Antonius Scopolius).

Description This moth has purple-brown forewings with yellow marks. The marks on the wings varies but is usually one yellow spot near the middle of the wing but leaning closer to the costa (top edge/vein of the wing). It is also common to have smaller yellow marks with the larger spot. It is possible for the forewing to be blank. It is also possible to have yellow markings that look like a wavy band on the forewings. The hindwings are a dark brown or black with a yellow band in the center.

Wingspan: 1.8 - 2 cm (0.71 - 0.79 in).

The caterpillar of this moth ranges from light green, dark green, light brown, black gray and reddish with a darker back line. They also have a dark brown head.

Length: 13 cm (≈0.512)

Diet and Habitat This species most often eats mint (Mentha spicata and Mentha rotundifolia) but also eats plants like marjoram, Salvia pratensis, Melissa officinalis, Nepeta cataria and Calamintha species.

This species is widely distributed in Europe, North Africa, and North Asia. It reaches to Siberia, North China, Korea, and Japan in the east and to Asia Minor, the Middle East, Iran, Afghanistan, Middle Asia and Mongolia in the south. They inhabit chalk and limestone grassland, woodland, marshland, quarries, places with waterside vegetation, and gardens

Mating This moth has two generations a year in north-west Europe. It flies from April until the end of September. Specifically in the UK, it breeds from May to June then from July to August.

Predators This species flies during the day and at night. No listed protections or specific predators.

Fun Fact The mint moth (Pyrausta aurata) can be mistaken for Pyrausta purpuralis as they are related. However, Pyrausta purpuralis is larger and has a more distinct band on the forewing. This band is usually divided in 3.

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2], Butterfly Conservation)

[jalpeppers]

Cye!! my mint moth boy!

I wish there was a moth emoji

[onenicebugperday]

@biitumen​ submitted: Greetings! I saw this tiny but beautiful moth (?) on my sage plant in Victoria bc this morning

any idea what he is?

What a tiny precious cute angel! It’s a type of mint moth, probably a California pyrausta moth. If you have mint planted nearby, that would be why it’s there!

[dansnaturepictures]

17th July 2023: Stockbridge Down

Photos taken in this set are of: 1 and 9. Chalkhill Blues. Another stunning butterfly that I love to see of late, they're summer's crown. I was so looking forward to looking for them this year especially with seeing of sightings the last week or two, it was amazing to see these silky gems of chalk grassland. I am always impressed by how many of these and butterflies I see at Stockbridge Down, it really is a wonderful and richly vegetated spot which is so good for insects. 2. Another special insect to see today, my first ever Forester's moth. An emerald star which I knew of and had wanted to see for ages so this was a good moment. 3. Mint moth, a charming and well coloured moth I was also hopeful of seeing today. 4-8. Beautiful colourful and panoramic views at this pretty spot. 10. Some delightful common toadflax, I enjoy seeing them and have seen a fair few lately.

Silver-washed and Dark Green Fritillary, Brown Argus, Small Skipper and Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small White, Large White, Marbled White, a fair few Brimstones, Red Admiral, Peacock, Small Copper and Silver Y and Six-spot Burnet moths stars of another great Big Butterfly Count done today were other key insects to see. My first ever Synaphe punctalisand moth and Meadow Grasshopper were great to see too, and there was another amazing wildlife moment this long weekend for me when we saw a Stoat dash across the grass into vegetation. I had wanted to see one of these for years so I loved seeing it, yet another fantastic mammal moment this weekend and year with a third new mammal species for me seen in 2023. Yellowhammer, Rooks and Blackbird were bird highlights of the walk, with my first wild marjoram, wild basil, harebell and squinancywort of the year and restharrow, mignonette, rosebay willowherb, lady's bedstraw, eyebright, dock, scabious, yarrow, herb-Robert and wayfaring tree berries other nice plants to observe as well as mushrooms which I saw well in Rutland too. Many of these plants were some of the first I learnt at this site three years which makes me feel nostalgic for where my passion for plants really ramped up in my pandemic days discovery of plants.