Maltese ruby tiger moth | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Superfamily: | Noctuoidea |
Family: | Erebidae |
Subfamily: | Arctiinae |
Genus: | Phragmatobia |
Species: | |
Subspecies: | P. f. melitensis |
Trinomial name | |
Phragmatobia fuliginosa melitensis (O. Bang-Haas, 1927) |
The Maltese ruby tiger moth (Phragmatobia fuliginosa melitensis) is a subspecies of moth endemic to the Maltese Islands. It was first described by Otto Bang-Haas in 1927. It belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae.
This moth, known as the rubin [1] [2] in Maltese, has a wingspan of 30–35 mm. [2] Its head and body are 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. [2]
The caterpillar looks rather furry, a feature common in Arctiinae caterpillars, which are known as "woolly bears".
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). [1]
The Maltese ruby tiger moth, although endemic, is common throughout the Maltese Islands. [1]
The Arctiinae are a large and diverse subfamily of moths with around 11,000 species found all over the world, including 6,000 neotropical species. This subfamily includes the groups commonly known as tiger moths, which usually have bright colours, footmen, which are usually much drabber, lichen moths, and wasp moths. Many species have "hairy" caterpillars that are popularly known as woolly bears or woolly worms. The scientific name Arctiinae refers to this hairiness. Some species within the Arctiinae have the word "tussock"' in their common names because they have been misidentified as members of the Lymantriinae subfamily based on the characteristics of the larvae.
The feathered thorn is a moth of the family Geometridae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1761.
Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail. It is the type species of the genus Papilio. This widespread species is found in much of the Palearctic and in North America.
The ringlet is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is only one of the numerous "ringlet" butterflies in the tribe Satyrini.
Pyrrharctia isabella, the Isabella tiger moth, whose larval form is called the banded woolly bear, woolly bear, or woolly worm, occurs in the United States and southern Canada. It was first formally named by James Edward Smith in 1797.
The mint moth is a small moth from the family Crambidae, also known by the common name Small Purple and Gold.
The filfola lizard or Maltese wall lizard is a species of lizard in the family Lacertidae. It is found in Italy and in the island group of Malta. Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, rocky shores, arable land, pastureland, and rural gardens.
Arctia is a genus of tiger moths in the family Erebidae. Therein, it belongs to the subtribe Arctiina in the tribe Arctiini in the subfamily Arctiinae. Species are well distributed throughout North America, Palearctic, India, and Sri Lanka.
The Viper's Bugloss(Hadena irregularis) is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found in Europe.
Arctia villica, the cream-spot tiger, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, Anatolia, western and northern Iran, western Siberia, southwestern Asia and North Africa.
Utetheisa pulchella, the crimson-speckled flunkey, crimson-speckled footman, or crimson-speckled moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
Phragmatobia fuliginosa, the ruby tiger, is a moth of the family Erebidae.
Phyllodes imperialis, the imperial fruit-sucking moth or pink underwing moth, is a noctuoid moth in the family Erebidae, subfamily Calpinae. It was first described by Herbert Druce in 1888. The species can be found in north-eastern Queensland to northern New South Wales, Papua New Guinea, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
Eudocima phalonia, the common fruit-piercing moth, is a fruit piercing moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1763 Centuria Insectorum. It is found in large parts of the tropics, mainly in Asia, Africa and Australia but introduced into other areas such as Hawaii, New Zealand and the Society Islands. It is one of major fruit pests in the world.
Argina astrea, the crotalaria podborer, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. It is found in eastern Africa, southern Asia of India, Sri Lanka, and Indo-Australia, including the Pacific Islands and Australia.
Aloa lactinea, the red costate tiger moth, is a moth of family Erebidae. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1777. It is found in India, Japan, southern and western China, Taiwan, Java, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines.
Euchromia polymena is a species of day flying moth of the subfamily Arctiinae. These moths are vibrantly coloured and look like wasps so known as Wasp moth or Painted handmaiden moth. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in India and south-eastern Asia, as well as on Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo and the Philippines. It is also present in the northern part of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Phragmatobia assimilans, the large ruby tiger moth, is a moth in the family Erebidae. It was described by Francis Walker in 1855. It is found in North America from Nova Scotia to Connecticut, in the east to British Columbia. There are isolated populations in northern Colorado and the Black Hills of South Dakota. The habitat consists of open meadows and moist forests.