Crotalarias and moths

Hello, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. Writing radio is fascinating as I learn all sorts of cool stuff –there are native Crotalarias that are the original larval food source for the ornate bella moth—their front wings have rows of black spots and back wings are pink. Native species of Crotalaria are having a hard time with habitat loss and this moth sometimes goes to prolific invasive Crotalaria for to deposit their eggs. Female moths of this species mate with lots of males – whose sperm comes in a package containing the poisonous compound that protects the larva – females can select from over a dozen discrete spermatophores to choose the ones with the highest levels of the toxins. The distinctly colored larva and adults are recognized by predators as toxic– the same way the monarchs signal to predators not to feed on them.