Small Elephant Hawkmoth
Deilephila porcellus
When threatened, the caterpillar retracts its head into its body, inflating its front segments to mimic a small, staring snake to scare off birds.
- Scientific name
- Deilephila porcellus
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Sphingidae › Deilephila
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- grassland
- Habitat
- Chalk downs, dry grasslands, sand dunes, heathlands, and woodland edges
- Diet
- Adults feed on flower nectar (honeysuckle, campion, bedstraw); larvae feed on bedstraw (Galium) and willowherb (Epilobium)
- Range
- Europe, North Africa, Western Asia
- Size
- Wingspan of 40 to 50 mm
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 weeks as an adult; up to 1 year including egg, larval, and pupal stages
- Active
- nocturnal
- Threats
- Habitat loss due to intensive agriculture, pesticide use, and light pollution disrupting nocturnal behaviors
- Safe to approach?
- Completely harmless to humans. If you encounter one, observe from a short distance as it hovers near flowers at dusk. Avoid touching its delicate wings, as handling can rub off the scales vital for its flight.
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.
Photo: Donald Hobern, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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