Elephant hawk moth
Encyclopedia
Deilephila elpenor, known as the Elephant Hawk-moth, is a large moth
of the Sphingidae
family.
and Ireland
. Its range extends across Europe
, Russia
, and into China
, northern parts of the Indian subcontinent
, Japan
and Korea
(though not Taiwan
). Introduced specimens have been found in British Columbia
. In most of their range, the adults are seen from May to July and the caterpillars from July to September, when they pupa
te. However in some parts of the Mediterranean and China the adults may be seen from April on, sometimes having two broods in a year.
is about 75 millimetres (3 in) long, green and brown in colour. Like most hawk moth caterpillar
s, they have a backward curving spine or "horn" on the final abdominal
segment. The anterior of the caterpillar appears to have the shape of a trunk-like snout. It is this elephant look, rather than its large size, that gives the moth its name. When startled, the caterpillar draws its trunk into its foremost body segment. This posture resembles a snake with a large head and four large eye-like patches. Caterpillars are preyed upon by birds, but these shy away (at least for some time) from caterpillars in "snake" pose. It is not known whether the birds take the caterpillar to actually resemble a snake, or are frightened by the sudden change of a familiar prey item into an unusual and boldly-patterned shape.
The preferred food plants of the caterpillar are willowherb (Epilobium)
and bedstraw (Galium)
, though it will also take fuchsia
s.
(adult) feeds at night, and often takes nectar from garden plants like Honeysuckles (Lonicera)
and petunia
s, so it is quite often seen in urban settings in the evening. The moth typically has a wing span of 50 millimetre. It is spectacularly coloured, seeming to shimmer with green and red when in motion. The adult moths are eaten by some species of bat
s.
. Its eye includes two different kinds of ommatidium
; each contains nine light sensitive cells, of which seven contain a pigment whose absorption spectrum peaks in the green part of the spectrum, but in one type the remaining two receptors have peak absorption in the blue and in the other type they have peak reception in the ultra violet. The moth therefore has the cellular prerequisites for trichromatic colour vision. Adults have been shown to be capable of making colour discriminations at night-time levels of illumination, and they sustain these discriminations despite changes in the spectral content of the incident light; that is, they show colour constancy.
and Myanmar
, is still regarded as distinct.
The related species, the Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus
and Chitral Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila rivularis
are similar but smaller and less colourful.
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
of the Sphingidae
Sphingidae
Sphingidae is a family of moths , commonly known as hawk moths, sphinx moths and hornworms, that includes about 1,200 species . It is best represented in the tropics but there are species in every region . They are moderate to large in size and are distinguished among moths for their rapid,...
family.
Range
The species is found throughout BritainGreat Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. Its range extends across Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, and into China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, northern parts of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
(though not Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
). Introduced specimens have been found in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
. In most of their range, the adults are seen from May to July and the caterpillars from July to September, when they pupa
Pupa
A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...
te. However in some parts of the Mediterranean and China the adults may be seen from April on, sometimes having two broods in a year.
Appearance
Larva
The larvaLarva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
is about 75 millimetres (3 in) long, green and brown in colour. Like most hawk moth caterpillar
Caterpillar
Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...
s, they have a backward curving spine or "horn" on the final abdominal
Abdomen
In vertebrates such as mammals the abdomen constitutes the part of the body between the thorax and pelvis. The region enclosed by the abdomen is termed the abdominal cavity...
segment. The anterior of the caterpillar appears to have the shape of a trunk-like snout. It is this elephant look, rather than its large size, that gives the moth its name. When startled, the caterpillar draws its trunk into its foremost body segment. This posture resembles a snake with a large head and four large eye-like patches. Caterpillars are preyed upon by birds, but these shy away (at least for some time) from caterpillars in "snake" pose. It is not known whether the birds take the caterpillar to actually resemble a snake, or are frightened by the sudden change of a familiar prey item into an unusual and boldly-patterned shape.
The preferred food plants of the caterpillar are willowherb (Epilobium)
Epilobium
Epilobium is a genus in the family Onagraceae, containing about 160-200 species of flowering plants with a worldwide distribution. They are generally abundant in the subarctic, temperate and subantarctic regions, whereas in the subtropics and tropics they are restricted to the cool montane biomes,...
and bedstraw (Galium)
Galium
Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, with 617 known species occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Most species are known as bedstraw. G...
, though it will also take fuchsia
Fuchsia
Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1703 by the French Minim monk and botanist, Charles Plumier...
s.
Adult
The imagoImago
In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...
(adult) feeds at night, and often takes nectar from garden plants like Honeysuckles (Lonicera)
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
and petunia
Petunia
Petunia is a widely cultivated genus of flowering plants of South American origin, closely related with tobacco, cape gooseberries, tomatoes, deadly nightshades, potatoes and chili peppers; in the family Solanaceae. The popular flower derived its name from French, which took the word petun, meaning...
s, so it is quite often seen in urban settings in the evening. The moth typically has a wing span of 50 millimetre. It is spectacularly coloured, seeming to shimmer with green and red when in motion. The adult moths are eaten by some species of bat
Bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera "hand" and pteron "wing") whose forelimbs form webbed wings, making them the only mammals naturally capable of true and sustained flight. By contrast, other mammals said to fly, such as flying squirrels, gliding possums, and colugos, glide rather than fly,...
s.
Night vision
This species possesses good night or scotopic visionScotopic vision
Scotopic vision is the vision of the eye under low light conditions. The term comes from Greek skotos meaning darkness and -opia meaning a condition of sight...
. Its eye includes two different kinds of ommatidium
Ommatidium
The compound eyes of insects, mantis shrimp and millipedes are composed of units called ommatidia . An ommatidium contains a cluster of photoreceptor cells surrounded by support cells and pigment cells. The outer part of the ommatidium is overlaid with a transparent cornea...
; each contains nine light sensitive cells, of which seven contain a pigment whose absorption spectrum peaks in the green part of the spectrum, but in one type the remaining two receptors have peak absorption in the blue and in the other type they have peak reception in the ultra violet. The moth therefore has the cellular prerequisites for trichromatic colour vision. Adults have been shown to be capable of making colour discriminations at night-time levels of illumination, and they sustain these discriminations despite changes in the spectral content of the incident light; that is, they show colour constancy.
Subspecies
Two subspecies, Deilephila elpenor elpenor and Deilephila elpenor lewisii, were recognised in the past, but they are no longer regarded as well distinguished. Similarly the subspecies Deilephila elpenor szechuana is now thought to be a synonym for Deilephila elpenor elpenor. The subspecies Deilephila elpenor macromera, found in southern China, northern India, BhutanBhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, is still regarded as distinct.
The related species, the Small Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila porcellus
Deilephila porcellus
Deilephila porcellus, known as the Small Elephant Hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It is found in Europe, North Africa and Western Asia.The wingspan is . The moth flies from May to July depending on the location....
and Chitral Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila rivularis
Deilephila rivularis
The Chitral Elephant Hawk Moth is a moth of the Sphingidae family. It is found in east and central Afghanistan, Pakistan and in northern India .The wingspan is 64-82 mm....
are similar but smaller and less colourful.
External links
- Genus and species account from A. R. Pittaway's authoritative "Spingidae of the Western Palaearctic" site.
- More images from the UK Virtual Field Guide