A common Maltese subspecies of the ruby tiger moth, with a red, black-spotted body and bright pink hindwings.
The Maltese ruby tiger moth, known in Maltese as ir-rubin, was first described in 1927. It is a subspecies found only in the Maltese Islands, although it is common throughout them.
Its wingspan is 30 to 35 mm. The head and thorax are reddish brown and the abdomen is red with black spots. The forewings are reddish brown and the hindwings are bright pink with black spots. The caterpillar is furry, like other tiger moth caterpillars, and feeds on borage and on bugloss plants.
Text: Wikipedia, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Edited by the Editorial Team.
Photo: MaltaWildPlants.com.
