Dryocampa rubicunda (Rosy Maple Moth)

This startlingly bright moth certainly caught my attention when I spotted it on the wall outside the house.  It is commonly called the Rosy Maple Moth, but I would really prefer to call it the Strawberry Vanilla Swirl Moth, because it looks like an ice cream sundae to me!

Quite honestly, it hardly looks real!  It looks like something that someone might create as a stuffed animal version of a moth, with the hope of appealing to young girls with bedrooms decorated in pink.  It's fuzzy yellow thorax and pink legs are just charming!

When I spotted it, it was sitting with a friend.  I'm not sure what species the friend is, but it probably is quite envious of the colourful outfit sported by the Rosy Maple Moth.

As you might have guessed from the name, the larvae of this moth eat maple leaves, but also they eat sycamore, beech and oak.