Death's Head Hawkmoth
Close up of head of Death's Head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos. The larva feeds on potato leaves (as well as those of deadly nightshade and other plants in the same family) and the species has therefore declined in some places because of the increasingly common use of pesticides on potato fields across Europe and Africa. Global warming may have offset this tendency by extending its range: in the overwintering pupal stage it cannot survive too many frosts. In Great Britain it is the largest naturally occurring moth. The majority of recorded examples of the adult are undoubtedly migrants from warmer climes. However, the caterpillar is fairly common and some lepidopterists believe the chrysalis (often exposed by potato-digging machines) may sometimes survive the Winter and produce breeding adult moths.
Size: 4755px × 3566px
Location: Ottery St Mary, Devon, England
Photo credit: © Nearby / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: acherontia, antennae, atropos, close, colourful, compound, dark, deadly, death, europe, eyes, foodplant, fur, hawk, hawkmoth, head, large, legs, lepidoptera, macro, moth, nightshade, pest, poison, poisonous, potato, privet, scales, sinister, skull, spectacular, sphingid, sphingidae, superstition, superstitious, thorax, wings
