So , some exciting news! I have the most amazing creatures! They were once vulnerable, small, but now they are the creatures that many thought as a warning in the past.
These beasts are the incredible Deatheaded Hawk Moth( Acherontia atropos).
They are the largest to appear in the UK with a large wingspan of 12-13cm!! They are however not native here but migrate here later in the summer in some areas of Britain.
The first picture is the adult, and second, is the pupae. Seeing these stunningly, deadly looking things emerge was a great experience.
Though they have a skull shape on their head , they are just flighty, clumsy , and simply adorable🥰
They are sneaky little things. The Deatheaded Hawk Moth( Acherontia atropos) sneak into bee hives to steal honey. The ingenious thing is, they release pheromones that are similar to the bees', fooling them to believe it is one of them. In addition, the skull on their head looks like the face of the queen bee.
Though, they don't always get away with it and bees catch and kill them. That is why dead moths are found in there.
In captivity, they need feeding honey water by hand which is a tricky task , and one I will cover in a care sheet at some point.
You have to uncurl the proboscis ( the long straw like appendage in the middle of their face) with a lolly pop stick or with something thin but not sharp; you do not want to accidentally stab the moth!
I normally squirt honey water onto my skin, and using a syringe uncurl the proboscis. If they struggle, I place honey water near the proboscis first so they can sense it is food.
I will cover this more in depth another time.
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