Strolling through the garden on a recent cool morning, I spied a Southern Pink Moth, Pyrausta inornatalis, on the lower lip of a White Tropical Sage, Salvia coccinea. The moth wasn’t pollinating or fluttering, just pink and still. I walked by later and the moth was in the same position.
What a lovely place to rest, to nap, to sleep!
I’ve never seen this small moth, nor have I come across the adjective inornate till now (which the species name leads to). Did you eventually become aware that the moth was gone?
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I see them regularly in my garden, they really do like the white S. coccinea! Yes, I went out later in the afternoon and it had moved on.
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They are a recent discovery in my garden too! I forget if they were on my gaura or tropical sage just resting. Brilliantly pink in the sun!
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They’re beautiful little things, aren’t they!
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The moth is an interesting color and really pops against the white salvia.
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The last time I saw one of these moths was in July on one of my Rock Rose blooms–Pink on Pink!
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Hard to miss that one. 🙂 Not very good at camouflage, though… maybe it’s color blind! 😀
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Haha–yeah, that’s for sure. Apparently all the little critter needed to fret about was a weird gardener with a camera!
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I still haven’t seen this beautiful species, but I have seen the same behavior! Even though I took the photo in 2019, the behavior was so charming I remembered it. There’s at least one quality rain lilies and your salvia have in common beyond color; they offer a cozy resting spot.
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I love to catch critters obviously resting/resting on blooms, there’s just something so charming about that. Loved your photo!
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Such a beautiful moth resting on an equally beautiful flower.
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