With coloured hairs forming a skull-like pattern on its thorax (the part of the body immediately behind the head) it is understandable how the Death’s Head Hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos, has acquired its common name. The presence of the ‘skull’ has given the moth a certain notoriety and has been referred to in such classic literature as Thomas Hardy’s Return of the Native and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. More recently it has appeared in, and featured in promotional material for, the 1990’s horror film Silence of the Lambs.
One study has suggested that this resemblance to a head may deter would-be predators, and would be in addition to it briefly producing a loud chirping noise and flashing its wings to expose a brightly coloured abdomen when it is disturbed.
Unfortunately, this large hawk moth can be regarded as an agricultural pest: their larvae have been reported as causing damage to potato crops, with the accumulating intake of alkaloids from feeding on the leaves making them poisonous to predators - the bright yellow colouration of the larvae being a warning of their toxicity.
In addition, the adult moth may steal honey from beehives – its short proboscis being the right length to reach the bottom of a comb cell, while the fatty substance coating its body absorbs the scent of the bees and allows it to move around the hive undisturbed.
