White-lined sphinx moth.  White-lined sphinx moth.  Moth of the
Week: Death’s Head Hawkmoth  Meet the Death’s Head Hawkmoth,
which refers to any three species from the family Sphingidae and
the genus Acherontia, A. atropos, A. styx, and A. lachesis.
These critters have earned a relatively bad reputation due to
the vaguely skull-shaped marking on their backs. They are large
animals, with imagoes having wingspans of about five inches, and
can be found throughout Europe, the UK, and Africa, depending on
which species you’re looking at.  Caterpillars are very pretty,
and like adults, can grow to be quite large (12-13 cm). They
feed on a variety of host plants, mostly from the families
Solanaceae, Bignoniaceae, Verbenaceae and Oleaceae. They go
through five instars (moults) before they are ready to pupate.
Caterpillars can sometimes be pests, especially on potato farms,
but they are easily controlled. Pupae are long and have ridges
across their backs, although they are hard to find because they
bury underground to