Meet the pink and yellow moth inspiring popstar comparisons

Story by CBC Kids News • 2020-05-26 15:48

Twitter is abuzz over this rosy maple moth pic

As far as moths go, this one’s pretty glamorous.

And now this pretty pink and yellow creature is making the rounds on social media.

On May 21, an American Twitter user by the name of Rebecca Lavoie shared a photo of a rosy maple moth that had landed on her deck.

Last we checked, her tweet had been liked more than 560,000 times and retweeted more than 80,000 times.

Tweet from Rebecca Lavoie says this moth exists in nature and it's ON MY DECK.

What is it?

This type of moth is native to North America.

You may even see one if you live in southern Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or P.E.I.

Its distinct look has been compared to everything from a fairy princess to cotton candy to a strawberry-banana milkshake.

Oh, and here’s another nickname that’s been circulating: Nicki MOTHaj.

Tweet from chenswae says same energy and shows moth next to rapper Nicki Minaj.

Reminds me of...

Various Twitter users were quick to point out that this kind of moth weirdly matches all kinds of cakes and cupcakes.

Tweet from Andrew Neary says same energy and shows moth next to little cakes.

Not to mention some classic cartoon characters.

Tweet from Jamie Grettum says the Fluttershy of moths next to photo of My Little Pony character.

And some people were inspired to come up with characters of their own:

Tweet from dr barnowl says 70s disco moth resting after its usual nightly activities next to image of reclining moth.

Other cool moths

Lavoie’s tweet about her fuzzy pink-and-yellow visitor has also sparked a conversation about some other cool moths out there.

Tweet from Gerbera4U says We found this on our windowsill yesterday which we initially thought was a piece of stick but turns out it's a buff-tip moth! Next to photo of stick-like moth.

Tweet from Jennifer F. Thompson shows image of black and white moth. Comment from winceyville says That's like if Cruela de Vil were a moth.

Tweet from She Spoiled It says Meet Hawky, my pet elephant hawk moth who just got released into the wild.

Surprising facts

Here are some cool facts about rosy maple moths, according to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology:

The adult moths don’t have to eat — ever!
As far as predators go, blue jays are their biggest threat.
Unlike humans, they can see ultraviolet light.
The moths are nocturnal, meaning they prefer to be active at night.
They like to lay their eggs on maple trees (as well as oak and beech).

TOP PHOTO: (@chenswae/Twitter)

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