Dryocampa rubicunda
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
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 trees. 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.
The rosy maple moth is the smallest of the silk moths; males have a wingspan of 3.2 to 4.4 centimeters (1.25-1.75 in); females of 3.8 to 5 centimeters... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Great Smoky Mountains National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Cape Breton Highlands National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Shenandoah National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Congaree National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy Maple Moth sighting in Washington on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 851st most-seen of the 1807 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Rosy Maple Moth in Washington on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Rosy Maple Moth sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
Only Washington, in our data
Washington is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Rosy Maple Moth sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same family: Saturniidae
The closest relatives of the Rosy Maple Moth that you can see in Washington (family Saturniidae, Emperor and Giant Silk Moths) are Polyphemus Moth (about 10%), North American Luna Moth (about 10%) and Imperial Moth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Rosy Maple Moth is recorded against all the insects logged in Washington (18 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
