Macrothylacia rubi

Macrothylacia rubi, the fox moth, is a lepidopteran belonging to the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[1]

"Fox moth" redirects here. For the aircraft, see de Havilland Fox Moth.

Fox moth
Male
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Lasiocampidae
Genus:
Macrothylacia
Species:
M. rubi
Binomial name
Macrothylacia rubi
Synonyms
  • Phalaena rubi Linnaeus, 1758
  • Macrothylacia pygmaea Reuter, 1893
  • Macrothylacia rubi ab. transfuga Krulikowsky, 1908

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found from Western Europe to Central Asia and Siberia.[2][3] These moths live in open woodlands, moors and prairies.[4][5]

Description

The wingspan of the male is 40–65 mm.[5] The wings are reddish brown in males while females are usually paler, more greyish in colour and slightly larger than males. Both sexes show two narrow, straight, light-yellow, transverse bands, running across the forewings. The abdomen is thick, grey brown and hairy.[5] The caterpillars can reach a length of about 80 millimetres (3.1 in). They are initially black with bright yellow or orange segments, later they become darker, always covered with blackish and tawny-coloured hairs and with light grey hair on the sides.[5][6]

  • Both sides of male
  • Both sides of female

Biology

It is a univoltine species. Between September and March the caterpillars hibernate in leaf litter. These moths take flight from May to July. The males usually fly in the afternoon and night, while the females fly only at night.[5] Caterpillars feed on heather (Calluna) bramble (Rubus fruticosus), Gramineae, Betula verrucosa, Salix, Populus tremula, Vicia cracca, Trifolium medium, Trifolium pratense, Vaccinium myrtillus, Fragaria, Potentilla and Geranium sylvaticum.[2][5][7]

References
  1. BioLib.cz
  2. Savela, Markku. "Macrothylacia rubi (Linnaeus, 1758)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  3. Fauna Europaea
  4. P. C. Rougeot & P. Viette (1978). Guide des papillons nocturnes d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord (in French). Lausanne: Delachaux et Niestlé.
  5. Fox Moth Macrothylacia rubi at UKMoths
  6. Kimmo Silvonen Larvae of North-European Lepidoptera
  7. Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
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