Wildlife watch: Elephant hawk-moth | BBC Gardeners World Journal

Certainly one of our most hanging moths, the elephant hawk-moth is a big species, primarily golden inexperienced however with shiny pink patterning on its physique and wings. It’s named after its caterpillar, which has massive, faux eye spots and is claimed to seem like an elephant.

Adults fly from Might to July. They’re nocturnal and feed from quite a lot of nectar-rich vegetation, together with honeysuckle. They’re interested in gentle and are usually present in moth traps – a secure ‘entice’ that makes use of gentle to catch moths to allow them to be noticed within the morning. They mate and the feminine lays eggs on willowherbs, bedstraws, Himalayan balsam and in addition (notably in gardens) fuchsias. The caterpillars could be inexperienced or brown and are unmistakable, resulting from their massive ‘eye’ markings. They’re most frequently seen on the bottom on the finish of the season, when in search of someplace to pupate. They pupate in leaf litter or simply beneath the floor of the bottom, and overwinter in. this state, rising as adults the next spring.

How one can assist elephant hawk-moths

Elephant hawk-moths feed on quite a lot of long-tubed flowers comparable to honeysuckle, pink valerian and buddleia, so rising loads of these in your backyard will present meals for them. To finish their lifecycle they want caterpillar foodplants, together with willowherbs and fuchsia, so rising loads of these will help them, too. If in case you have fuchsia vegetation that you simply don’t need to be eaten, take into account having a sacrificial fuchsia in the back of the backyard which you could switch caterpillars to. This may aid you save your show and assist the moths full their lifecycle – a win for you and the elephant hawk-moth!

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