#Acherontia

[onenicebugperday]

Death’s head hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos, Sphingidae

Photographed by Matthieu Berroneau

Shared with permission; do not remove credit or re-post!

[herpsandbirds]

Thanks for posting about the Incas, never knew that they were their own Genus. If you don't mind me bothering you again with a request, is it possible to see some pictures, if you have them, of death head's hawkmoths? They are my favorite species, and I am currently writing a murder-mystery where one is a significant plot-point, so I want to describe it as accurately as possible. Thanks.

Death's head moths:

Greater Death's-head Moth (Acherontia lachesis), family Sphingidae, found in India, SE, and East Asia

photographs by Mosmas & Balakrishnan Valappil 

[moth-friends]

Acherontia atropos

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

𝔇𝔢𝔞𝔱𝔥’𝔰-𝔥𝔢𝔞𝔡 𝔥𝔞𝔴𝔨𝔪𝔬𝔱𝔥

[desnoot]

Bugtober days 13, 14, 15 and extra 16

Spirit Moth, Katydid (it's a grasshopper), Firefly and Acherontia Moth

Final bugtober post! I'll try to get these posts up to date with my other ssmm content

[miiju86]

Death's Head Hawkmoth

Acherontia Atropos; Acherontia Lachesis; Acherontia Styx

[indigoburton]

Death's-head hawkmoth outside my house 🦋

[geocitie]

big oc doodle dump :3

[rbade-art]

[lonesomenecromancer]

behold

(acherontia atropos)

[onenicebugperday]

@passbyers submitted: From what I search it seems to be a Death’s-head hawkmoth, tho that name has 3 species in it and I’m not sure which one is this little guys

Found it in Asia ([removed] to be exact, but please remove this info)

Regardless cute looking moth!

Ah, one of my favorites! There are three, yes, but only two would be found in your area. This one is more than likely a greater death’s head hawkmoth, Acherontia lachesis.

[heartnosekid]

death's head hawkmoths (acherontia atropos) | stonedaffection on ig

[libraryofmoths]

Moth of the Week

African Death’s-Head Hawkmoth

Acherontia atropos

The African death's-head hawkmoth is part of the family Sphingidae and is the most widely recognized of the three species of Death’s-Head Hawkmoth. The species was described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Its common name comes from the skull shape on the back of its thorax. It’s binomial name comes from the river Acheron in Greece, which was believed to lead to the Underworld, and the Greek goddess Atropos respectively.

Description The forewings are black/brown with mottled shades of brown while the hindwings are buff orange with two black/brown stripes that curve with the edge of the hindwing. The head and thorax are the same black/brown color as the forewings interrupted by the brown skull on the back of the thorax. The abdomen is the same buff color as the hindwings with similar stripes of the same color. There is also a single stripe down the center of the abdomen called the “dorsal stripe.”

Average Wingspan: 13 cm (5 in)

Females are large than males with a rounded abdomen tip and larger, thicker antennae

Males have a pointed abdomen tip

Diet and Habitat Larva of this species mainly eat the leaves of potato plants which have alkaloids. The larva accumulate these toxins to become unpalatable to predators. Adults eat the nectar of flowers and stolen honey from the beehives of the Western Honey Bee. They are able to mimic the scent of bees and steal the honey undetected. They use their proboscis, a tube used to drink nectar and honey, to break the honey comb.

Their ranges stretches from the Middle East, as far south as the southern tip of Africa, as far north as southern Great Britain, as far east as India and western Saudi Arabia, and as far west as the Canary Islands and Azores. It is known to move into western Eurasia, but a majority do not survive the winter.

Mating This moth has multiple generations per year. In Africa, the broods are continuous. In the northern range, the larva overwinter in the pupal stage. Eggs are laid singly on the underside of species in mainly Solanaceae but also Physalis, Verbenaceae, Cannabaceae, Oleaceae, Pedaliaceae and others.

Predators This moth can emit a special squeak noise by sucking in air to vibrate a flap in its mouth and throat. The purpose of this squeak is unclear, but the two hypotheses are it is to scare away predators or to mimic the sound of a queen bee makes for the workers to stop moving to easier raid beehives for honey. They are also immune to bee venom and can mimic the scent of bees.

Fun Fact This moth has appeared many times in pop culture as symbols of death and evil:

It appeared in The Hireling Shepherd, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Un Chien Andalou, the promotional marquee posters for The Silence of the Lambs, in the music video to Massive Attack's single, "Butterfly Caught,” and on the American edition's cover of José Saramago's novel Death with Interruptions.

It is mentioned in Susan Hill's Gothic horror novel I'm the King of the Castle and John Keats’s "Ode to Melancholy.”

It is referred to in The Mothman Prophecies.

Finally, the moth is used as a calling card by the serial killer Buffalo Bill. However, in the movie script they are referred to under a different species of death’s-head hawkmoths.

(Source: Wikipedia, Simple English Wikipedia)

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[moths-daily]

Hey, I was just wondering if you could cover the death's head hawkmoth, which is known for its unique skull-like pattern. They can also squeak, which I find adorable.

Moth Of The day #21

Death's-head Hawk-moth

Acherontia atropos, acherontia styx, acherontia lachesis

The death's-head hawk-moth refers to any of three moth species in the Acherontia genus. These are the African death's-head (A. atropos), the lesser death's head (A. styx) and the greater death's-head (A. lachesis). They belong to the sphingidae family.

They have a wingspan of about 13cm, which equals 5 inches. They are most commonly found in gardens. The A. atropos is found throughout Europe and Africa, meanwhile A. styx and A. lachesis are found in Asia. The use of the common name usually refers to A. atropos.

Thank you, anon, for your suggestion. This is a very beloved moth by us.

[lynnalyl]