Rosy maple moth By Jennifer Shelby
When people think of moths, they often think of the butterfly’s drab cousin or the annoying pests who gnaw on their wool. They may not realize that Albert County is home to some spectacular moths.
While this list is by no means definitive, I’d like to introduce you to three of my favourite moths: the Rosy Maple moth, the Cecropia moth, and the Luna moth.
When people think of moths, they often think of the butterfly’s drab cousin or the annoying pests who gnaw on their wool. They may not realize that Albert County is home to some spectacular moths.
While this list is by no means definitive, I’d like to introduce you to three of my favourite moths: the Rosy Maple moth, the Cecropia moth, and the Luna moth.
The smallest of these is the Rosy Maple moth. They make their home in, you guessed it, maple trees. At first glance, their bright pink and yellow colouring seems out of place in a maple tree, but hidden under mature maple leaves are clusters of samaras, or seeds, that match the Rosy Maple moth’s colouring and size.
We have several maples surrounding our house on Caledonia Mountain and we most often see Rosy Maple moths clinging to our window screens. Rosy Maple moths are nocturnal, like most moths, so they sleep during the day. Their preferred sleeping position includes a pair of their fuzzy pink legs sticking up past their heads, which my kids love because it makes the moths look like a caped superhero flying to someone’s rescue.
We have several maples surrounding our house on Caledonia Mountain and we most often see Rosy Maple moths clinging to our window screens. Rosy Maple moths are nocturnal, like most moths, so they sleep during the day. Their preferred sleeping position includes a pair of their fuzzy pink legs sticking up past their heads, which my kids love because it makes the moths look like a caped superhero flying to someone’s rescue.
Cecropia Moth The Cecropia moth is a giant silk moth, one of the largest in Canada, with a wingspan of up to 15 cm. It looks similar to the Columbia silk moth, but the Cecropia has a telltale reddish orange stripe that the Columbia doesn’t have.
Because of the Cecropia’s size, it can be startling if one flies close or lands on you, especially at night, but they’re harmless. They emerge from their cocoons with no mouths and can’t bite. Unfortunately, this also means their life as an adult moth (as opposed to caterpillar) is only a few weeks long.
Because of the Cecropia’s size, it can be startling if one flies close or lands on you, especially at night, but they’re harmless. They emerge from their cocoons with no mouths and can’t bite. Unfortunately, this also means their life as an adult moth (as opposed to caterpillar) is only a few weeks long.
 Luna moth | Lastly, there’s the beautiful Luna moth. Like the other two moths in this article, Lunas don’t have a stomach or a mouth as an adult moth. They live for only about a week in this form. Unlike the Cecropia, we get a few generations of Luna moths per year, giving us more chances to see Luna moths in the wild. Luna moths have beautiful, trailing hindwings which gives them a distinctive look, but they’re not there for decoration. When Lunas fly at night, those trailing wingtips can throw off a bat’s echolocation and help the Luna moth avoid becoming dinner. |
All three of the moths in this article are nocturnal and tend to remain still during the day. Sometimes when we notice these pretty moths and come in for a better look, they start trembling violently. It’s easy to think that the moths are trembling with fear, or we might worry that they are having a seizure, but they are actually warming up their wing muscles before they fly away. We don’t see butterflies do this during the day because they warm their muscles by the sun instead.
If you’d like to see moths for yourself, take a walk around your house during the day and keep your eyes open for patterns like the ones you see in the pictures. Since moths are attracted to light, the bushes and plants underneath a dusk-till-dawn or security light are great places to find different species waiting for nightfall. The internet is a wonderful tool to help identify the species you find around your yard.
Happy hunting!
If you’d like to see moths for yourself, take a walk around your house during the day and keep your eyes open for patterns like the ones you see in the pictures. Since moths are attracted to light, the bushes and plants underneath a dusk-till-dawn or security light are great places to find different species waiting for nightfall. The internet is a wonderful tool to help identify the species you find around your yard.
Happy hunting!
Images by Jennifer Shelby.
Jennifer Shelby is an SFF [Science Fiction & Fantasy] writer and moth enthusiast who lives on Caledonia Mountain. She hunts for stories in the beetled undergrowth of fairy-infested Acadian forests and fishes for them in the dark space between the stars. If you’d like to know more about her ongoing catch-and-release program, you can find her on twitter @jenniferdshelby or at jennifershelby.blog
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