Rebecca Lavoie, a digital director, author, and podcaster, tweeted a picture of a beautiful creature of nature she saw on her deck on May 21. Her tweet was of a pretty yellow and pink moth, which was very unusual to see, especially since most of the common moths appear grey or brown.
The exotic little creature caught the attention of many as Lavoie kept posting updates of it as she saw others lying around the outside of her house. Her initial post got about 565K likes and caused other users to share their own pictures of encounters with the same moth species.
The moth that appeared in Lavoie's backyard happened to be a rosy maple moth, which is sometimes called a cosmoth. The moth species is predominantly found in North America. As its name suggests, the moths like hanging out in maple trees. So for those of you living near maple trees, keep an eye out. You might just encounter these little beauties.
This moth exists in nature and it’s ON MY DECK pic.twitter.com/frBXkvav3d — Rebecca Lavoie (@reblavoie) May 21, 2020
What is a Rosy Maple Moth?
According to the Encyclopedia of Life, rosy maple moths, scientifically known as Dryocampa rubicunda, is a species of Lepidoptera in the family of giant silkworm moths.
Biokids says that some rosy maple moths appear bright yellow and pink, while others are completely white. Their bodies are fluffy and coloured bright yellow, cream, or white. Some have plenty of pink spots on their wings, while others almost have none.
Male and female rosy maple moths have wings that differ in shapes and sizes. Male moths have narrower wings, while females have more rounded hind wings. Males and females have wingspans of 32 to 55 millimeters, and the front wings of males are 17 to 29 millimeters. Males also have more complex antennae that resemble feathers.
Rosy maple moth caterpillars, also known as green-striped mapleworms, change colours as they grow. They initially have black heads and cream or pale yellow bodies and green stripes. Once they reach adulthood, their heads turn beige to bright red.
Their bodies are yellow-green with seven dark green lines. The lines can also sometimes appear to be frosty blue, blue-green, or black.
Why Moths Don't Deserve the Hate
It's no secret; most people prefer butterflies over moths. That's understandable since butterflies are associated with pretty colors and dazzling patterns. However, not all moths are dull and unattractive.
According to Akito Kawahara, Ph.D., the associate curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, the bright colors of most butterflies and moths are due to their toxic diets. He explains that as caterpillars, the insects eat leaves and ingest the toxins in them. Most of the time, it has something to do with chemistry, he adds.
In an article, Nature.org shares 11 moth species that are just as intricate as butterflies. One of the moths featured in the article is the luna moth. The moth has pale green wings, multiple transparent eyespots, and two long outward-curling tails.
Luna moths have a strip of pink, sometimes yellow, coloring along the edges of its wings. It flies mostly at night. Scientists believe that its green coloring could be attributed to its camouflage technique to protect itself from predators.
