Wildlife watch: Elephant hawk-moth

One of our most striking moths, the elephant hawk-moth is a large species, mainly golden green but with bright pink patterning on its body and wings. It’s named after its caterpillar, which has large, fake eye spots and is said to look like an elephant.

Adults fly from May to July. They’re nocturnal and feed from a variety of nectar-rich plants, including honeysuckle. They’re attracted to light and are regularly found in moth traps – a safe ‘trap’ that uses light to catch moths so they can be observed in the morning. They mate and the female lays eggs on willowherbs, bedstraws, Himalayan balsam and also (particularly in gardens) fuchsias. The caterpillars can be green or brown and are unmistakable, due to their large ‘eye’ markings. They’re most often seen on the ground at the end of the season, when looking for somewhere to pupate. They pupate in leaf litter or just below the surface of the ground, and overwinter in. this state, emerging as adults the following spring.

How to help elephant hawk-moths

Elephant hawk-moths feed on a variety of long-tubed flowers such as honeysuckle, red valerian and buddleia, so growing plenty of these in your garden will provide food for them. To complete their lifecycle they need caterpillar foodplants, including willowherbs and fuchsia, so growing plenty of these can help them, too. If you have fuchsia plants that you don’t want to be eaten, consider having a sacrificial fuchsia at the back of the garden that you can transfer caterpillars to. This will help you save your display and help the moths complete their lifecycle – a win for you and the elephant hawk-moth!