Rosy Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) (2024)

FAQs

What are some interesting facts about the Rosy Maple Moth? ›

Regardless of sex, the rosy maple moth is considered the smallest of the silk moths– adults are up to 2 inches across when wings are spread, and males are smaller than females. Rosy maple moth larvae have black stripes along their bodies and two black “horns” above their heads.

Habitat: Deciduous forests. Range: Nova Scotia west through Quebec to Ontario and Minnesota; south to Dade County, Florida, the Gulf Coast, and east Texas.

The rosy maple moth can be found across the eastern United States and in parts of adjacent regions of Canada. It lives in deciduous forests with abundant maples, its host (caterpillar food) plant. Occasionally, it will also lay its eggs on oak trees.

Adults also use their body and antennae setae to sense the direction of the wind while flying. Rosy maple moths lack organs to process auditory sounds. As caterpillars and adults, rosy maple moths use their bright coloration as a warning sign and to seem distasteful to predators.

Fun Fact Friday: an adult Rosy Maple Moth, an exceptionally rare species of moth almost exclusively found on the east coast of North America, doesn't have a mouth! As larvae and caterpillars, Rosy Maple Moths enjoy consuming the leaves of the maple tree, hence their name.

The predators of the rosy maple moth and larvae mostly consist of birds including blue jays, black-capped chickadees, and tufted titmice. The bright coloration of the wings may serve as a defense mechanism to trick predators into thinking they are poisonous and not edible.

The favorite host plant of Dryocampa rubicunda is maple, with sugar maple (Acer saccharum) yielding good result in captivity. Larvae of Dryocampa rubicunda are gregarious – they feed and travel in groups. However, in the later instars, the mature larvae become solitary.

The brimstone moth is bright yellow; it has white spots edged with brown and two orangey-brown markings along the front edges of its forewings. The wings are quite angular in appearance. There are several other yellow moths with brown markings: if seen well, the brimstone moth can be distinguished by its white spot.

The longest-living species of moth is the Gynaephora Groenlandica, or Arctic Wooly Bear Moth. This unique moth lives on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian arctic. Sometimes, the Wooly Bear Moth can have a lifespan that lasts up to 7 years.

Rosy maple moths are usually found in and near the woodlands and parks where their food trees live. They come to electric lights at night.

Do a moth bite? ›

No, adult moths do not bite. Moths are mostly harmless, fluttering insects. Because a moth's mouth parts are so small, it is not physically possible for it to bite a human, with few exceptions, including the “vampire moth." The most that will happen is the moth will leave behind a little dust as it flies away.

Dysphania palmyra, the long blue tiger moth or blue day moth, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Caspar Stoll in 1790. It is found in India and Sri Lanka.

Moths are active at different times of the night depending on species. Giant Silkworm Moths have a 1 year life cycle. Wing veins are useful for species identification - kinda like finger prints. The Clearwing family of moths resembles other flying insects like hornets, wasps and even Hummingbirds.

Rosy maple moths are unable to hear. But evolution has equipped this moth's entire body to interact and interpret its surroundings, including their antennae, legs, palps – prongs coming out of the area where their mouth would be, and setae – tiny hairs which are their sense of touch.