Their legs are black and have yellow tips. Their bodies are sparsely covered with short setae. The second body segments of the larvae have two yellow tubercles, each terminating with two setae. During the early instars, the larvae have shiny black heads and yellow bodies with black dorsal lines running vertically. Only by the 4th instar do the larvae feed independently. During the first three instars, the larvae live and eat together. Rosy maple moth larvae go through five instar stages. Perception Channels: visual ultraviolet tactile chemicalįemale rosy maple moths lay their fertilized eggs 24 hours after mating on the underside of the host leaf and then depart. As caterpillars and adults, rosy maple moths use their bright coloration as a warning sign and to seem distasteful to predators.Ĭommunication Channels: visual tactile chemical Rosy maple moths lack organs to process auditory sounds. Adults also use their body and antennae setae to sense the direction of the wind while flying. Adults and caterpillars both use their many setae to relay tactile information about their environment to the brain. Green-striped maple worms, their caterpillars, only have simple eyes that can differentiate between light and dark. However, the complexity of the eye changes with each developmental stage. Rosy maple moths are equipped with compound eyes and simple eyes, which allow them to see ultraviolet rays.

Because adult rosy maple moths do not feed, their receptors are not used for finding food and are concentrated for reproductive purposes.

Adults use receptors to smell pheremones of the opposite sex when it is time to mate. Sensory receptors of rosy maple moths are concentrated in the antennae, legs and palps.

Rosy maple moth pupa