Sphingidae – Wandering through Wadis

The Oleander Hawkmoth (Daphnis nerii), aka the Army Green Hawkmoth, is the most magnificent moth I have seen in the wild. Look at those wings! The colors and designs are truly stunning. That’s why I was so excited last week when my husband called me over to point out the one he had spotted in our desert garden.

This species of hawkmoth is native to areas of Africa and Asia. They are a migratory species, however, and fly to parts of eastern and southern Europe during the summer months. Oleander Hawkmoths have also been introduced in many places around the world.

The larvae, or caterpillars, feed mainly on oleander bushes (Nerium oleander), which of course explains their common English name, as well as other plants in the dogbane family. These plants are highly toxic, but the caterpillars are immune. Oleander, which is not native to Sinai, is the most popular bush to plant along the streets in Dahab because of it’s toxicity. The goats and sheep roaming the streets of Assala typically won’t eat these bushes, so they one of the few that can survive in this part of town. And so there is plenty of food around in my neighborhood for these caterpillars to munch.

“MMB_6870” by mmariomm is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.

And if you thought the were amazing – check out these larvae! They are yellow when they hatch and turn green as they grow older. Like all hawkmoths, there is a “horn” protruding from the rear end of their body. There are large blue and white eyespots near the head (which are used as part of their defense system), a white band along the side of the body, and white and bluish dots. The caterpillar can grow up to 8.5 cm in length and turns brown shortly before it is ready to pupate.

“Daphnis nerii” by acherontyus is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

“Hawk moth caterpillar” by DocJ96 is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.

Fresh pupa are cream-colored but turn reddish-brown in color and will lie directly on the ground or under leaf litter.

“File:Daphnis nerii (Pakistan, Islamabad) (Muhammad Ather Rafi) pupa 2.jpg” by Muhammad Ather Rafi is licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Adult moths have a greenish head with a gray band at the vertex and a green thorax with a black/tan belt across the center. The forewings are patterned with green, whitish, and rosy-colored curved bands. At the base of these wings is a white patch with a black spot.

Adults drink the nectar from a variety of flowers and are especially active at twilight, just after sunset. Oleander Hawkmoths may be important pollinators, and can find themselves prey to birds, lizards, and bats.

Their life cycle, from egg-laying to adulthood, takes between 28 – 30 days.

Read about other hawkmoths in Sinai:

Convolvulus Hawkmoth (Agrius convolvuli)

Eastern Death’s Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia styx)

Striped Hawkmoth (Hyles livornica)

These beautiful wings above belong to a hawkmoth – specifically, to an Eastern Death’s Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia styx). Hawkmoths (family Sphingidae) are known for their sustained and agile flying abilities, reminiscent of a hummingbird’s flight and giving rise to another common name, hummingbird moths. There are 12 species of hawkmoths in Egypt. (You can read about two others on the blog – the Convolvulus Hawkmoth and the Striped Hawkmoth). Like all hawkmoths, the Eastern Death’s Head Hawkmoth has narrow wings and a streamlined abdomen, aiding their fast flying.

Acherontia styx is also known as the Small or Lesser Death’s Head Hawkmoth. Globally, there are three species of Death’s Head Hawkmoths (Acherontia spp.), all named in reference to Greek myths of death. A. styx is named after one of the rivers that divides Earth from the underworld. The moths were given this name in reference to the skull-like markings, with two black spots for eyes, on the back of the thoraxes, in addition to their somewhat-gloomy coloring.

Adults have brown heads, dark thoraxes, and a yellow-striped abdomen. Their forewings are mottled brown, grey, and a reddish color. The hind wings are yellow with two black bands. Eastern Death’s Head Hawkmoths have a wingspan of 80 – 120 mm.

Eggs are laid, and the larvae (caterpillars) feed, on a range of plants – potato, aubergine, tomato, tobacco, olive, as well as Capsicum, Solanum, Datura, and Nicotiana species. The larvae are yellow/green with yellow lateral stripes and go through several instars. When mature, they dig under the soil to pupate.

And these critters get more interesting!

Death’s Head Hawkmoths can, if disturbed, rapidly expel air to emit a loud squeak, similar to that of an agitated mouse. And these hawkmoths are also known as bee moths because of their ability to safely enter bee hives and drink the honey. They do this with the use of a chemical camouflage; they mimic the scent of bees.

Another fun fact: A. styx was featured in the film The Silence of the Lambs. (A victim was found with a pupa of this moth in her windpipe and there is a scene with entomologists determining the species.)

Interestingly, Acherontia styx was, in a study published in 2022, a new record in Egypt. The previous study on Sphingidae moths in Egypt was completed in 2005.

References:

Abdelfattah Mabrouk Amer Salem. Lepidoptera of Egypt Part III: Revision of Family Sphingidae (Bombycoidea). American Journal of Entomology. Vol. 6, No. 1, 2022, pp. 7-13. doi: 10.11648/j.aje.20220601.12

Specimen of the Week 194: The Death’s-Head Hawkmoth