Categories
Hummingbird Moths, Sphinx Moths or Hawk MothsDeaths head moth in Centurion, South Africa
January 13, 2010
Hi Bugman
My 14yr old son has found this huge moth
on the front wall of our house, he has now stayed in the same spot since the 11th of Jan and today is the 13th, without moving an inch!!! Comparing pics on the internet this looks like the deaths head moth, but which one?Is he dying, is there anything we can do?When I got close with the camera, it made a loud squeeking noise and squirted a brown liquid from its tail end (yuk!!)
Andrew and James Foxley
Centurion ( Pretoria) South Africa
Death's Head Hawkmoth
Dear Andrew and James,
We are thrilled to get your photograph of a Death’s Head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos, the species found in South Africa. We frequently receive photos of the caterpillars, but submissions of the imago are not as common to our site. The squeaking is a well documented defense mechanism. Often, Sphinx Moths are attracted to lights and rest several days before beginning to fly again.
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[...] is a Death’s Head Hawkmoth Caterpillar, Acherontia atropos. You may see a photo of an adult moth in our archive which will explain the common name. This species has the notoriety of figuring prominently in the [...]
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