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Photo: Steve Botham
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UK
Safari Tip:
You can discover more about the Hawk-Moths found in the UK with this fold
out chart - click here
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Latin name: Deilephila elpenor
Size: Approximately 70mm wingspan
Distribution: Found throughout most of England, Wales and Ireland. In Scotland they are mainly found in the south and west.
Months seen: May to July. The caterpillars are seen from July to
September.
Habitat: Gardens, waste ground and woodland clearings.
Food: Nectar. The caterpillars feed on bedstraws and willowherbs.
 In
gardens they can often be found feeding on fuchsias.
Special features: The large elephant hawk-moth is one of our more
brightly coloured moths. We often receive email messages from people claiming to
have seen a "pink butterfly" which usually turns out to be one of
these moths.
 It gets its name from the caterpillar which has a trunk-like snout.
 When it feels threatened it draws this snout in, towards its body. This has the effect of inflating its head, which features four large eye markings.
 The
caterpillars can be green but are more frequently brown. They have four large 'eye' markings at the
head end.
 When
fully grown the caterpillar moves down to the ground to pupate. It
remains in this state until the following spring (around May) when it emerges as an adult moth.
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Elephant Hawk-moth larva showing its trunk
Bright green Elephant Hawk-moth larva
UK Safari Small Elephant Hawk-Moth Page
UK Safari Moth Section
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