Rosy Maple Moth

The rosy maple moth is a member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths, though it is one of the smallest species in that showy family. Its bubblegum-pink and buttery-yellow color scheme makes it a favorite subject for nature photography and a frequent surprise for people who assume such vivid colors belong only to tropical insects.

Despite its delicate appearance, it is a fairly common and widespread woodland species across the eastern half of the continent, closely tied to the maple trees that give it its name. As with other silk moths, the adults are short-lived and exist primarily to mate and reproduce, playing a modest role as prey for nocturnal predators during their brief adult stage.

• Wingspan of about 32–50 mm; body and wings covered in dense, woolly-looking scales.
• Forewings are typically soft pink at the base blending into pale yellow, with a pink outer margin; hindwings follow a similar pink-and-yellow split.
• Color intensity varies regionally and individually, from nearly all-yellow to strongly pink-and-yellow forms.
• Thick, fuzzy yellow legs and a rounded, teddy-bear-like body.
• Lookalikes are few given the unique color combination, though faded individuals can appear pale yellow and be mistaken for other small silk moths.

Ranges across the eastern United States and adjacent Canada, wherever maple trees grow, including deciduous forests, wooded suburbs, and parks. Adults are active at night from late spring through summer, with southern populations producing broods into early autumn, and are frequently attracted to porch lights.

Adults do not feed, having reduced, non-functional mouthparts typical of many silk moths, and live only a short time focused on mating and egg-laying. Caterpillars, called green-striped mapleworms, feed gregariously when young on the foliage of maple and sometimes oak trees, later dispersing to feed individually. The species serves as a food source for birds and other predators, and mass caterpillar feeding can occasionally cause noticeable, though temporary, defoliation on host trees.

Eggs are laid in clusters on maple leaves and hatch into small caterpillars that initially feed together before spreading out as they mature. The green, spined caterpillars pass through several instars over a few weeks before dropping to the ground to pupate in loose soil or leaf litter, without spinning a cocoon. Depending on latitude there may be one or two generations per year, with the final generation overwintering as a pupa underground until adults emerge the following spring.