Elephant Hawk-moth, Another 'Garden First'

 

© David Gill 2024

 

Some years ago we were delighted to find an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar very close to our home. This afternoon we discovered an adult moth in our long grass, in close proximity to the anthill where we found the Slow worm only yesterday. Another entry for our home patch list of species.

 

My photo ... to give an impression of the long grass location

 

Larval stage, my photo taken close to home, 2021

 

My view of the Elephant Hawk-moth Larva

Having posted a few photos taken earlier in the week by David of an Elephant Hawk-moth larva he had seen en route to the nearest Post Office, I was absolutely delighted this afternoon to learn that there was a caterpillar in very close proximity to our home. As you can see it was busy eating its way through some Rosebay Willowherb leaves when I arrived.

I like the way its shape seems to mirror the grass seedhead just below it!

Not much left of the plant!

Elephant Hawk-moth larva

We seem to be a day or two behind most wildlife spotters at the moment!

I had seen several pictures of this rather handsome Elephant Hawk-moth larva on social media, and had remarked to David how interesting it would be to see one. I would also like to see the adult moth with its pink and green-gold markings.

Well, he took a parcel to the letterbox yesterday, passing some rough ground with a clump of Rosebay Willow Herb, and came back with these photos, which he has allowed me to share.  

One website compared the length of this caterpillar to an adult's finger, and the centimetre rule in the photo above will give a more accurate picture. The distinctive eye-like markings help to ward off potential predators: there is a good feature on 'fake eyes' here. 

David revisited the waste ground today, and made a short video of the larva munching away, which you can see here.