Ruby Tiger Moth

Fascinating facts about the Ruby Tiger Moth

• The ruby tiger moth spans the Palearctic, occurring across most of Europe, North Africa, Russia, Central Asia, Tibet and northern North America. It is recorded throughout this vast realm, showing a continuous presence from western Europe to the far east of the continent.
• When winter days become warm, the ruby tiger's caterpillars leave their hidden shelters and scuttle across fieldpaths and roads, moving quickly along the surface. This behaviour is most noticeable on warm winter afternoons when the larvae are seen running about in open areas. They are commonly found on low-growing plants, high-roads, railway embankments and waste fields, taking advantage of these exposed sites before returning to cover.
• In southern England the ruby tiger moth is double-brooded, with adults flying from April to June and again from August to September. This extended flight period allows two generations to develop within a single year in the milder climate. Further north the species is univoltine, producing only one generation that emerges in June, reflecting the shorter warm season in those regions.
• The ruby tiger's hindwings are a vivid carmine colour, and a portion near the leading edge is hyaline, giving a partially transparent appearance. In this costal region the wing surface lacks the usual scaling, while the rest of the hindwing bears black spots that merge together toward the outer margin and at the cell apex. The forewings and thorax are dark reddish-brown, marked by a blackish comma-shaped spot edged in carmine, providing a striking contrast.
• The caterpillar of the ruby tiger is either light or dark grey and has a black-brown head, while its whole body is densely clothed in foxy-red hairs that can appear more black-brown in the placida form and occasionally in the typical form.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Ruby Tiger Moth

As the Ruby Tiger Moth emerges from its nocturnal slumber, its vibrant, crimson-hued wings unfold like delicate silk, glistening with an ethereal sheen in the fading light of day. With a gentle, wavering flight, it dances through the forest, leaving a trail of wonder in its wake, its iridescent scales shimmering like embers as it navigates the intricate tapestry of its woodland habitat. In this fleeting, whirling moment, the Ruby Tiger Moth embodies the very essence of life's fragile, resplendent beauty.

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