Elephant Hawkmoth

Deilephila elpenor

The Elephant Hawkmoth is a colorful insect that looks like a tiny elephant! It has big eyes and beautiful green and pink wings. This moth loves to fly around flowers at night.

Hábitat: Gardens

Aspecto

The Elephant Hawkmoth has a stout, olive-green body with bold pink stripes and markings. Its forewings are green with pink borders, while the hindwings are a brighter pink. Its striking colors make it easily recognizable.

ReinoAnimaliaFiloArthropodaClaseInsectaOrdenLepidopteraFamiliaSphingidaeGéneroDeilephila

Elephant Hawkmoth

Categoría

Insectos

Rareza

Common

Peligro

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Snaps

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Datos interesantes

Baby Elephant Hawkmoths (caterpillars) are green or brown with four big "fake eyes"!

Its long feeding tube, a proboscis, can be even longer than its entire body!

Its name likely comes from the caterpillar's flexible, trunk-like snout, not the adult moth!

One of the biggest, most beautiful moths you can spot in gardens at twilight!

Habilidades especiales

Elephant Hawkmoth can hover expertly while using its long proboscis to drink nectar from deep flowers at dusk.

Its caterpillar has false eye spots and can retract its head to mimic a small snake, scaring predators.

Elephant Hawkmoth has powerful wing muscles for incredibly fast, direct flight, making it a tricky insect to spot.

Medidas y detalles

Envergadura: 55-70 mm
Tamaño: 50-60 mm
Esperanza de vida: 7-21 días
Velocidad de vuelo: 35 km/h
Cantidad de patas: 6

Dieta y alimentación

Adults sip nectar from flowers, while caterpillars munch on leaves of various plants.

Diferencias por edad: Larvae eat plant leaves, but adults drink nectar.

Alimentos principales

honeysuckle nectar
valerian nectar
willowherb leaves
bedstraw leaves

Método de búsqueda

Foraging

Conexiones ecológicas

pollinates

Honeysuckle

Lonicera periclymenum

helps flowers grow when sipping nectar.

eaten by

Brown long-eared bat

Plecotus auritus

a tasty snack for hungry bats at night.

eats

Great willowherb

Epilobium hirsutum

caterpillars munch on its leaves to grow big.

eaten by

Eurasian magpie

Pica pica

birds often prey on its large caterpillars.

Rasgos

Colorido

Colorido describe a organismos u objetos que exhiben una amplia variedad de colores brillantes y distintivos.

Herbívoro

Este rasgo caracteriza a los organismos cuya dieta consiste total o principalmente en material vegetal.

Imán para polinizadores

Describe plantas que son particularmente atractivas y beneficiosas para una amplia variedad de organismos polinizadores.

Velocista

Este rasgo identifica a los organismos que exhiben una rapidez excepcional en sus movimientos para cazar, escapar o desplazarse.

Adaptado a la ciudad

Esta característica de hábitat indica especies que pueden coexistir con los humanos en entornos urbanos y suburbanos, utilizando estructuras artificiales y espacios verdes.