Kingdom Animalia Family Arctiidae Order Butterflies and moths | Class Insecta Phylum Arthropoda Rank Subspecies | |
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Similar Phragmatobia, Phragmatobia fuliginosa, Butterflies and moths, Phragmatobia lineata, Grammia virgo | ||
The Maltese ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa ssp. melitensis) is a moth endemic to the Maltese Islands which falls under the family Arctiidae.
Contents
General features
This moth, known as the Rubin in Maltese, has a wingspan of 30-35 mm. Head and body hairy; head and thorax reddish brown; abdomen red with black spots; wings translucent; forewing reddish brown with black reniform spot; hindwing bright pink with black discal spot and uneven black spotting along outer margin.
The caterpillar looks rather furry, a feature common in Arctiidae caterpillars. In fact, the caterpillars are known as 'woolly bears'.
Food
The caterpillar feeds on borage Borago officinalis (known as Fidloqqom in Maltese), and on bugloss (plants from the genus Echium e.g. Pale Bugloss Echium italicum which is known as Lsien il-Fart Abjad in Maltese).
Population
The Maltese ruby tiger moth, although endemic, is common throughout the Maltese Islands.