Urania fulgens is a day-flying moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Uraniidae

Uraniidae

The Uraniidae are a family of moths containing four subfamilies, ninety genera, and roughly seven-hundred species. The family is distributed throughout the tropics of Americas, Africa and Indo-Australia. Some of the tropical species are known for their bright, butterfly-like colors and are called...

 family. It is found from Veracruz

Veracruz

Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

, Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, through Central America

Central America

Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...

 to northwestern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

 (west of the Andes

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

 and south to Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

). It is highly migratory and has been recorded as a vagrant to Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, USA.

It is sometimes confused with the similar U. leilus

Urania leilus

The Green-banded Urania, Urania leilus, is a day-flying moth of the Uraniidae family. It is found in tropical South America east of the Andes, including Suriname, French Guiana, east Colombia, Venezuela, east Ecuador, Brazil, north Bolivia, east Peru and Trinidad. It has been recorded as a vagrant...

, but that species is found east of the Andes in South America, is slightly larger and has more white to the "tail". The two have been treated as conspecific.

As appears to be the case for all Urania, the larvae of U. fulgens feed exclusively on the toxic Omphalea

Omphalea

Omphalea is a plant genus of the family Euphorbiaceae and the only genus of its tribe . It comprises 17 species, all of which are tropical shrubs, trees or lianas. 12 of them are native to the Americas, 4 are endemic to Madagascar and 1 to Africa...

species.