Unique to Missouri, subspecies alba is either all white or white with very faint pink maculation. Polymorphism does occur within different geographic regions. The amount of pink maculation on the wings ranges from dominant to nearly absent. Upper wing color is also very variable ranging from yellow to cream, to white with pink at the margins and bases of the wing. Their ventral side, legs, and antennae are usually rose pink. The woolly body of rosy maple moths varies in color from bright yellow, to cream, to white. Coloration in adults can range from unmarked white to bright yellow with dark pink maculation. The parasites are not abundant enough to affect the population size of the green-striped mapleworms.ДЄdult rosy maple moths are extremely variable in color. Some parasites have accumulated in the larvae, such as one species of parasitic wasp ( Hyposoter fugitivus) and one species of fly ( Achaetoneura frenchii). Several bird species prey on rosy maple moth larvae, but bird predation is not intense enough to slow the population buildup. Larvae and caterpillars, however, can be pests when occurring in large numbers on the leaves of maple and oak species, including sugar maples ( Acer saccharum), red maples ( Acer rubrum), silver maples ( Acer saccharinum), elder box maples ( Acer negundo), and oak trees ( Quercus cerris). Since adult rosy maple moths do not eat, they not impact the ecosystem as predators. Pupae stages vary in length from 4 to 7 days. Pupation occurs 10 to 14 days after the third molt. Spotting also occurs in their first segments. The body colors range from dark and light green, black and green, and black and yellow. About 1 week later, the larvae undergo a third molt and emerge with brown heads and varied body colors. This molt leaves the larvae relatively the same in appearance. About 12 days after hatching, the larvae undergo another molt. Between 6 to 11 days after hatching, the brood molts and emerges with deeper colors, two long black dorsal horns near their head, and 6 short but sharp spines on the rest of the segments. As they pass through the second and third instars, their body color and stripes begin to darken. 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 chemicalДЇemale 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.Д¬ommunication 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.