Sensory receptors of rosy maple moths are concentrated in the antennae, legs and palps. Adults use receptors to smell pheremones of the opposite sex when it is time to mate. Because adult rosy maple moths do not feed, their receptors are not used for finding food and are concentrated for reproductive purposes. Rosy maple moths are equipped with compound eyes and simple eyes, which allow them to see ultraviolet rays. However, the complexity of the eye changes with each developmental stage. Green-striped maple worms, their caterpillars, only have simple eyes that can differentiate between light and dark. Thus, their vision is poor. Adults and caterpillars both use their many setae to relay tactile information about their environment to the brain. 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.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones
Perception Channels: visual ; ultraviolet; tactile ; chemical
Rosy maple moths are not considered threatened or endangered.
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: no special status
Female rosy maple moths lay their fertilized eggs 24 hours after mating on the underside of the host leaf and then depart. After 2 weeks, the larvae hatch. Rosy maple moth larvae go through five instar stages. During the first three instars, the larvae live and eat together. Only by the 4th instar do the larvae feed independently. During the early instars, the larvae have shiny black heads and yellow bodies with black dorsal lines running vertically. The second body segments of the larvae have two yellow tubercles, each terminating with two setae. Their bodies are sparsely covered with short setae. Their legs are black and have yellow tips. As they pass through the second and third instars, their body color and stripes begin to darken. Between 6 to 11 days after hatching, the brood molts and emerges with deeper colors, two long black dorsal horns near their head, and 6 short but sharp spines on the rest of the segments. About 12 days after hatching, the larvae undergo another molt. This molt leaves the larvae relatively the same in appearance. About 1 week later, the larvae undergo a third molt and emerge with brown heads and varied body colors. The body colors range from dark and light green, black and green, and black and yellow. Spotting also occurs in their first segments. Pupation occurs 10 to 14 days after the third molt. Pupae stages vary in length from 4 to 7 days.
Development - Life Cycle: metamorphosis
Adult rosy maple moths are not known to have negative economic impacts on humans. However, larvae are defoliators capable of defoliating their host trees during a population explosion. If two generations are produced in a single year, host trees can be completely stripped of leaves twice. Typically this does not kill or permanently damage the tree. Nonetheless, this can defoliate acres of trees in a short time period if accompanied by another other hardwood defoliator, saddled prominent moths (Heterocampa guttivitta). In addition rosy maple moth larvae can be a nuisance to decorative trees as house pests.
Negative Impacts: household pest
There are no known positive economic impacts of rosy maple moths on humans.
Since adult rosy maple moths do not eat, they not impact the ecosystem as predators. Larvae and caterpillars, however, can be pests when occurring in large numbers on the leaves of maple and oak species, including sugar maples (Acer saccharum), red maples (Acer rubrum), silver maples (Acer saccharinum), elder box maples (Acer negundo), and oak trees (Quercus cerris). Several bird species prey on rosy maple moth larvae, but bird predation is not intense enough to slow the population buildup. Some parasites have accumulated in the larvae, such as one species of parasitic wasp (Hyposoter fugitivus) and one species of fly (Achaetoneura frenchii). The parasites are not abundant enough to affect the population size of the green-striped mapleworms.
Species Used as Host:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Adult rosy maple moths do not feed. The trees that females laid their eggs under become the host for the developing larvae. The early larvae feed in union, however, larvae become solitary feeders in the later stages. During the molting process, caterpillars feed on the undersides of the maple tree (Acer) or leaves of oak trees (Quercus). The larvae and caterpillars are folivorous, and consume the entire leaf blade.
Plant Foods: leaves
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore )
Rosy maple moths are native to North America. The northern extent of their range is in southern Canada, and they have been recorded in southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. They range down the East Coast of the United States through most of Florida. Their range extends west to Michigan, Indiana, Texas, Kansas, and Nebraska.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native )
Rosy maple moths inhabit temperate deciduous forests of eastern North America. They are most often associated with red maples (Acer rubrum), sugar maples (Acer saccharum), silver maples (Acer saccharinum), turkey oaks (Quercus laevis) and box elder maples (Acer negundo). Depending on where their host trees are, rosy maple moths have also been found in suburban areas.
Habitat Regions: temperate
Terrestrial Biomes: forest
Other Habitat Features: suburban
Lifespan of rosy maple moths ranges from 2 to 9 months in the wild if overwinter pupation occurs. Typically, rosy maple moths raised in captivity have a shorter lifespan of around 2 to 5 months. In the wild, much of their life is spent overwintering in the pupal stage. In captivity, there is no need to overwinter due to unfavorable conditions.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 2 to 9 months.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 1 to 3 months.
Adult rosy maple moths are extremely variable in color. Coloration in adults can range from unmarked white to bright yellow with dark pink maculation. The woolly body of rosy maple moths varies in color from bright yellow, to cream, to white. Their ventral side, legs, and antennae are usually rose pink. Upper wing color is also very variable; ranging from yellow to cream, to white with pink at the margins and bases of the wing. The amount of pink maculation on the wings ranges from dominant to nearly absent. Polymorphism does occur within different geographic regions. Unique to Missouri, subspecies alba is either all white or white with very faint pink maculation.
Sexual dimorphism is present in wing shape and span of rosy maple moths. Males have slightly narrower wings compared to females, and also have less rounded hindwings. Ornamentation differences are also present. Males have bipectinate antennae, while females have simple antennae. Both male and female rosy maple moths have an average wingspan of 32 to 55 mm. Male forewing length ranges from 17 to 29 mm. The last instar ranges from 38 mm to 55 mm in length.
Rosy maple moth caterpillars, also known as green-striped mapleworms, have different coloration depending on their stage of development. Early stage larvae have black heads and bodies that are yellowish-cream with faint longitudinal green stripes. Fully-grown caterpillars have beige to bright red heads. Their bodies are yellow-green with seven dark green lines running lengthwise. The longitudinal line coloration can also range from frosty blue to blue green, or black. Prominent black horns are located dorsally on the second thoracic segment. Two rows of short spines run along each side of the body and the terminal abdominal segments have four larger spines. Other moths in the same family (Saturniidae) have similar horned larvae, but lack the stunning color of rosy maple moths.
Range length: 38 to 55 mm.
Range wingspan: 32 to 55 mm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry ; polymorphic
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; sexes shaped differently; ornamentation
Rosy maple moths lay eggs on the underside of leaves so as to shield them from the eyes of hungry birds. Green-striped mapleworms exhibit aposematic coloring in their black spikes and red head. They also have cryptic coloration since they are a bright green; typically the color of the leaves they live and feed on. Adult rosy maple moths exhibit aposematic behavior with their bright yellow and pink coloring. Among bluejays (Cyanocitta cristata), black-capped chickadees (Parus atricapillus), and tufted titmouses (Parus bicolor), bluejays are the most successful predators of rosy maple moths. Field studies have shown that rosy maple moths have low acceptability to birds. The main predators of rosy maple moths and caterpillars are the local birds.
Known Predators:
Anti-predator Adaptations: aposematic ; cryptic
Mating behaviors of rosy maple moths are not well understood. Adults come out in the late afternoon or early evening and mate at night. Fertilization is internal. The following dusk, females lay their fertilized eggs. Females lay their eggs on the underside of host tree leaves, such as the leaves of the sugar maple tree (Acer saccharinum). Rosy maple moths have a polygyandrous mating system where females and males mate with different partners throughout the breeding season. For each new brood, rosy maple moth females find a different male.
Mating System: polygynandrous (promiscuous)
Sexually mature adult rosy maple moths emerge from pupae from mid-May through mid-July. Oviposition peaks in early July. Rosy maple moths are oviparous, and females lay eggs 24 hours after internal fertilization by the male. Females lay 150 to 200 eggs after fertilization and deposit them in clusters of 10 to 30 on the underside of the host leaf. The larvae hatch after 2 weeks and live and feed gregariously until the final instars. Larvae feed until mid-August at the latest. Overwinter pupation can occur. If this happens, the pupae burrow into the soil and wait for more favorable conditions to emerge. Rosy maple moths are sexually mature at 2 to 9 months.
Egg-laying occurs at different times in the year depending on the region inhabited by the females. In Canada and northern regions of the United States, females lay one brood from May to August. In the southern states, females lay two broods from April to September. In the Deep South including Florida, females lay three broods from March to October.
Breeding interval: Rosy maple moths breed one to three times in a season, depending on the latitude of their host tree.
Breeding season: Oviposition peaks in early July, though females living farthest south breed from March to October.
Range eggs per season: 150 to 200.
Average gestation period: 24 hours.
Range time to independence: 0 to 0 days.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 2 to 9 months.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 2 to 9 months.
Key Reproductive Features: seasonal breeding ; sexual ; fertilization (Internal ); broadcast (group) spawning; oviparous
Parental care is nearly absent in rosy maple moths. During the 24 hours after fertilization but before the female lays her eggs, she will yolk and protect her eggs inside her body. Females lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves of the host tree and leave. Males do nothing more than fertilize the eggs.
Parental Investment: female parental care ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female)
Dryocampa rubicunda, the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and pink and yellow coloration, which varies from cream or white to bright pink or yellow.[2] Males have bushier antennae than females, which allow them to sense female pheromones for mating.[2]
As the common name of the species implies, the preferred host trees are maple tree. Adult females lay their yellow ovular eggs in groups of 10 to 40 on the underside of maple leaves.[2][3] The emerging caterpillars, also known as the greenstriped mapleworm, mainly feed on the leaves of their host maple trees, particularly red maple, silver maple, and sugar maple. Since the caterpillars eat the entire leaf blade, in dense populations, caterpillars have been known to defoliate trees, resulting in aesthetic rather than permanent damage. However, like all other Saturniid moths, the adult moths do not eat.[4]
The rosy maple moth is the smallest of the silk moths; males have a wingspan of 3.2 to 4.4 centimetres (1.25-1.75 in); females of 3.8 to 5 centimetres (1.5–2 in). The species can be identified by their unique, but varying, pink and yellow coloration. They have reddish-to-pink legs and antennae, yellow bodies and hindwings, and pink forewings with a triangular yellow band across the middle.[2]
The rosy maple moth lives across the eastern United States and adjacent regions of Canada. Their northernmost range includes the southern regions of Canada, including Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island.[2] Their range extends south along the Atlantic coast of North America to Dade County, Florida, and extends west from eastern Texas through Minnesota.[5]
The rosy maple moth can be found in temperate deciduous forests and nearby suburban areas and urban landscapes.[2][6] Their common name derives from the fact that they can primarily be found on maple trees, including red maples (Acer rubrum), sugar maples (Acer saccharum), silver maples (Acer saccharinum), and box elder maples (Acer negundo). They can also be found on oak trees, particularly turkey oaks (Quercus laevis), especially when they are found dispersed among maple trees.[2][7]
Larvae hatch and live on the same tree through their development, then pupate in the soil beneath the same tree. The larvae primarily eat the underside of leaves, therefore preferentially staying in that location of their home tree. The adults do not eat, so they can have a sizeable home range.[2]
The rosy maple moths preferentially lay their eggs on maple trees, and sometimes nearby oak trees. Since the larvae remain on the same tree upon which they hatched, most larvae feed on the underside of maple leaves or oak leaves. In early instars, the larvae feed together in groups, but beginning in the third or fourth instar the caterpillars begin to feed individually.[8][9] The larvae eat the entire leaf blade and are capable of consuming a few leaves each. Thus, large populations of greenstriped mapleworms are capable of defoliating trees. This damage is mostly harmless and the leaves will grow back.[10] Adult rosy maple moths do not feed.[2]
Female rosy maple moths lay their eggs one day after fertilization. During those 24 hours, the eggs are protected inside the body of the female. Besides this, rosy maple moths exhibit little parental care, as the female leaves after depositing her eggs. Females typically lay around 150 to 200 eggs in groups of 10 to 40 on the underside of leaves of maple trees and occasionally oak trees. Females typically only reproduce once, but in southern regions they can lay eggs up to three times.[2][9] Egg laying typically occurs in the warmer months, with a peak in July, although precise timing depends on the region. In northern regions, one brood is laid between May and August. Further south, two broods are laid between April and September. In Florida, between March and October three broods are laid.[2]
Caterpillars live and feed in groups until the fourth instar when they become solitary. Adult rosy maple moths are mostly solitary besides during mating.[2]
Individual rosy maple moths typically live for about two to nine months. Between hatching and adulthood, the species undergoes five instars. For moths with longer life spans, much of this time is spent as a pupa over the winter months.[2]
Eggs are laid 24 hours after fertilization. The eggs are ovular and about 1.4 mm in diameter, with a thin smooth yellow shell.[3] Eggs hatch after about ten days to two weeks.[2][7] After hatching, a transparent egg shell is left behind.[11]
Rosy maple moth larvae are known as greenstriped mapleworms, and they undergo five instars prior to adulthood, during which their coloration and eating behavior changes. In early instars, the larvae have relatively large black heads and pale yellow-green bodies with faint green stripes. They have two large dark-green to black tubercles on the second thoracic segment and three rows of smaller spines, or setae, on each side of their body.[2][3] The larvae undergo their first molt around 6–11 days after hatching, their second molt approximately 12 days after hatching, and their third molt around 19 days post hatching.[2] In the next instars, the black head becomes smaller relative to the diameter of the body and the longitudinal stripes darken and become reddish.[3] In later instars, the head becomes yellow, and in the final instar, becomes bright red. By the final instar, the body is yellow green with longitudinal stripes that range from white to green to black.[3] The two prominent horns on the second thoracic segment are accompanied by two rows of short spines found along both sides of the body.[2] At maturity, the caterpillars reach lengths of about 2 inches.[12] Until the fourth instar, the larvae live and feed together, but in their final two instars they are solitary.[12]
After about a month, full-grown caterpillars crawl to the bottom of the host tree and pupate in shallow underground chambers. The pupae are very dark, elongated, and have small spines. The pupa ends in a small forked point.[12] The pupal stage lasts at least two weeks and up to the whole winter.[7][11] If the moths pupate over winter, the majority of their lives are spent in the pupal stage.[2] When the imago (adult) ecloses, it has small wings which it has to pump full of fluid in order to expand them and allow for flight.[12]
Adult rosy maple moths are distinguishable by their bright pink and yellow color, although exact coloration can vary significantly. Both sexes have a wingspan of 32–55 mm. Their bodies are woolly, and typically yellow on the top and pink on the underside, but can range to cream or white. Their legs and antennae are also pink. The forewings can be yellow to white with varying amounts of pink along the edges. The alba subspecies, found in Missouri, is completely white or white with faint pink markings.[2]
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.[2] The colouration of this moth rather surprisingly acts as a form of camouflage, blending it in with maple seed cases.
Rosy maple moths exhibit sexual dimorphism, that is males and females have different appearances. In the case of the rosy maple moth, males have narrower and less rounded wings. Additionally, while females have simple antennae, males have bipectinate (comb-like on both sides) antennae to sense females' pheromones during mating.[2] The moths become sexually mature at 2 to 9 months of age. Mating occurs at night, when females release pheromones to attract males. Fertilization occurs internally, and females lay their eggs 24 hours after mating. The moths are polygyandrous: females find a new male to mate with each time during breeding season when multiple broods are laid per season in warmer regions.[2]
Adults become active in the warmer months of the year. In a study that compared D. rubicunda with Actias luna, the prevalence of the rosy maple moth was found to vary with changes in temperature, with highest counts at the highest temperature, perhaps due to the tropical origin of the subfamily Ceratocampinae. Their small size, preventing more effective body temperature control, may also contribute to their preference for warm weather.[13] Adult moths are generally nocturnal, preferentially flying throughout the first third of the night.[12]
Dryocampa rubicunda, the rosy maple moth, is a small North American moth in the family Saturniidae, also known as the great silk moths. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. The species is known for its wooly body and pink and yellow coloration, which varies from cream or white to bright pink or yellow. Males have bushier antennae than females, which allow them to sense female pheromones for mating.
As the common name of the species implies, the preferred host trees are maple tree. Adult females lay their yellow ovular eggs in groups of 10 to 40 on the underside of maple leaves. The emerging caterpillars, also known as the greenstriped mapleworm, mainly feed on the leaves of their host maple trees, particularly red maple, silver maple, and sugar maple. Since the caterpillars eat the entire leaf blade, in dense populations, caterpillars have been known to defoliate trees, resulting in aesthetic rather than permanent damage. However, like all other Saturniid moths, the adult moths do not eat.
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