05/27/2026
Rosey Maple Moth (Dryocampa rubicunda) This moth, also known as the Great silk moth, is the smallest species of silk moth. They were first discovered by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793. They have a notable pink and yellow coloration in most cases, but can also be other variations of coloration, such as pinks, creams, whites, yellows, and purples. You can find these throughout the northern and eastern United States and adjacent regions of Canada. I found this one while sweeping my porch and almost swept her up. You can tell this moth is a female because she doesn’t have the big yellow and fluffy antennae that males have. Females are also larger than male Rosy Maples. The main reason I knew this moth was a female was that I kept a close watch on her after I found her. I put her on my pink and yellow begonias and monitored her, thinking I may have injured her when sweeping. The next morning, I woke up to her having passed away after laying eggs in my garden box. I immediately looked into what was going on and discovered she had given birth and died shortly after. Ants were actively trying to make a feast of her eggs, as they are a target for many predators. So I scooped up all of her eggs and am currently waiting for them to hatch. This can take up to two weeks, with the earliest hatch possibility being around just 7 days. I will have to separate the caterpillars immediately upon hatching, so they don’t eat the other eggs. They will then be moved to an enclosure with fresh maple leaves to munch on before I release them back into the wild. I decided to do this for a few reasons. The main reason is that she didn't lay the eggs under a leaf, as they normally do, but they were all over her abdomen and in the dirt, so they had no chance of surviving, especially with ants actively preying upon her eggs. Only a tiny fraction of moth eggs survive to adulthood, so I chose to try to change that. My son and I are also using this as a learning experience for his homeschooling. He is very excited to see them hatch. Rosy Maple moths live from around two to nine months from hatch to adulthood; they go through five instars overall. Their eggs are laid 24 hours after fertilization. The eggs that were laid are ovular and yellow in color. Hopefully, when they start to hatch, I'll have updates.
