Coffee-Loving Pyrausta on Rudbeckia

Over the past couple of years I've been turning my yard from the Standard American Yard into a more natural state. We only plant native plants or edible plants now. And as we've done that, more wildlife is attracted to the yard. Mind you, this is a 1/5 acre suburban lot in the most densely populated county in Florida.



One of my latest plantings included these Rudbeckia. While out checking the plants on morning, I was greeted by this moth, the Coffee-Loving Pyrausta, so named because it's host plant is native coffee, of which we have six in the yard. I had to photograph it; usually I only see bees or butterflies on the flowers so this was a treat, especially because it matches the colors of the Rudbeckia so well.