© CBIF	© CBIF

I get a lot of email asking for help in identifying moths. This species has been the number one generator of ID requests, from southeastern Canada to Florida and points westward. Everyone who encounters this moth wants to know what it is! I came in from the Moth Lounge one day and found my neighbors, Denise and Peter, sitting in the living room chatting with my wife, and there on the coffee table was a plastic baggie with a Rosy Maple in it -- ask Moth Man next door! Coloration in this species can vary quite a bit. The examples from my MPG website (at right) are from Canada. Notice that the rosy (raspberry?) coloring is more extensive along the costa (inner wing) on my 05/20 specimen than on the one from 05/06. Oftentimes the coloring is worn or washed out, or it might be quite naturally almost absent, as in the CBIF specimen at far right. When these moths are flying I will usually get one or two per evening at my lights. Folks who live in or adjacent to a wooded area with lots of oaks and maples (the larval food) might see 25 on a sheet at one time. At times the larva can be serious defoliators. But a fresh, richly colored adult specimen is adorable, furry and cuddly. They will often climb on your finger and just sit there, staring back at you. Males have relatively huge, feathery antennae, better to detect female pheremones.