Dryocampa rubicunda

Dryocampa rubicunda, more commonly known as the rosy maple moth, is a small silk moth in the Saturniidae family. Identified by its bright pink and yellow coloring, the rosy maple moth can be found near its host trees throughout North America.

Rosy Maple Moth
Scientific Classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Anthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Dryocampa
Species: D. rubicunda [1]

Description

The colors of the rosy maple moth make it easy to spot. Bright pink and yellow is the most common color combination, but the colors can also vary from light purple, cream or white. The rosy maple moth is the smallest of the silk moths [4]. The average wingspan for both males and females is 32 to 55mm. Males have narrower wings with less rounded hindwings and have more ornamental bipectinate antennae [3].

Growth and Reproduction

Habitat and Range

The rosy maple moth is native to North America. Their range extends from southern Canada down the eastern coast to Florida and as far west as Michigan down to Texas. As its name would suggest, this moth prefers a variety of maple trees (sugar maple, red maple, silver maple and box elder maple) and turkey oak trees. It can be found in suburban areas where its host trees exist [3].