Lobed leaves are leaves with distinct protrusions, either rounded or pointed. The dips between the lobes Lobe: A projection from an edge of a plant structure (such as a leaf), larger than a tooth. margins The structure of the leaf's edge.

The leaves of the Sugar Maple lack the irregularly and usually double- toothed Toothed: Leaves which have a saw-toothed edge.

Keys to differentiating the Sugar Maple from other maples include its leaves, bark, growth habit, and habitat. The bark of the Sugar Maple is smooth and gray when the tree is young, becoming irregularly furrowed, scaly, and dark gray on older trees. The buds are brown and sharp the buds are slender and pointed down. The twigs of the Sugar Maple are glossy and reddish brown. Trees of the Adirondacks: Sugar Maple bark is gray, smooth when the tree is young and scaly when the tree gets older. Sugar Maple on the Heart Lake Trail (28 June 2017). The winged seeds are green, turning reddish tan. The fruit of Sugar Maple is a pair of winged seeds (called a samara Samara: A type of dry fruit where one seed is surrounded by papery tissue that helps carry the seed away from the tree as the wind blows. In the Adirondack Mountains, this tree usually flowers in mid-May with leaf expansion. The Sugar Maple flowers in mid- to late-spring, producing tiny greenish yellow flowers with five sepals. Sugar Maple leaves turn red, yellow, or orange in autumn, contributing to the brilliant palette of colors seen in September and early October in the Adirondacks. The upper surface of a Sugar Maple leaf is green in the summer the lower surface is pale green to whitish. There is a moderately deep U-shaped notch ( sinus Sinus: In leaves with lobes, the indented area between two lobes.) between the lobes. Each of the largest three lobes Lobe: A projection from an edge of a plant structure (such as a leaf), larger than a tooth. The leaves of the Sugar Maple usually have five squarish, shallow lobes. Like other maples, Sugar Maples have opposite Opposite Leaves: Leaves occurring in pairs at a node, with one leaf on either side of the stem., lobed leaves. Sugar Maple that grow in the open are oval in shape, with upswept lower branches and straight upper branches. Forest-grown Sugar Maples are generally free from branches on the lower third to two-thirds of the tree, with a narrow, rounded crown. The branches are opposite, meaning that they emerge in pairs, opposite one another. The mature Sugar Maple is a large tree, growing 50-70 feet tall, with a straight, single trunk. Sugar Maple on the John Brown Farm Trails (23 September 2011). This defoliation may harm the tree if it is a sapling or otherwise stressed.Trees of the Adirondacks: Sugar Maple leaves turn red, yellow, or orange in the fall. This does not generally harm the tree, but rather it may become an aesthetic issue since the tree may become partially or entirely bare. The larvae can damage maple trees, and in some cases, a single host tree may have hundreds of hungry caterpillars feasting on leaves. The rosy maple moth is not a particularly destructive pest. Finally, the moth emerges from its cocoon, and the cycle repeats itself.

The pupal stage can last as little as two weeks or several months over winter. Larvae crawl down the tree to the ground, where they will find a shallow hole or burrow into the soil to form a pupa. As they feed and mature, the caterpillars become solitary until it is time to pupate. Eggs are laid in a cluster, and young larvae usually feed together (this is called feeding “gregariously”). The most common host species include sugar maple, silver maple, and red maple, although sometimes a turkey oak is also a host. After mating, the female lays her eggs on the underside of the host tree’s leaves. Once adults are ready to mate, the female moth will give off pheromones to attract a male. In South Carolina, mating occurs as early as March and ends in October. Mating adults start to look for partners from early summer through fall.

The rosy maple moth goes through five instars, or life cycles, from birth to death. Towards the rear, the caterpillar has a streak of red. Its head is bulbous and brilliantly red or orange, with two thick antennae perched just above the head. Also known as the greenstriped mapleworm, the caterpillar is bright neon green with faded white stripes and black dots running horizontally along its body. The caterpillar stage (larva) of the rosy maple moth looks quite different from the adult, but it is just as visually striking. Rosy maple moth larvae have black stripes along their bodies and two black “horns” above their heads.

Rosy maple moth fun facts