Acherontia atropos, Crete - photo © Mihalis Papadourakis
Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)
MOTH INFO
Acherontia atropos is a moth of the family Sphingidae on the island of Crete, Greece.
Scientific name
Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Sphinx atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Atropos solani (Oken, 1815)
Acherontia sculda (Kirby, 1877)
Acherontia conjuncta (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia extensa (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia flavescens (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia imperfecta (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia intermedia (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia obsoleta (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia suffusa (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia variegata (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia virgata (Tutt, 1904)
Acherontia violacea (Lambillion, 1905)
Acherontia charon (Closs, 1910)
Acherontia diluta (Closs, 1911)
Acherontia obscurata (Closs, 1917)
Acherontia myosotis (Schawerda, 1919)
Acherontia confluens (Dannehl, 1925)
Acherontia moira (Dannehl, 1925)
Acherontia pulverata (Cockayne, 1953)
Acherontia radiata (Cockayne, 1953)
Acherontia griseofasciata (Lempke, 1959)
Common name
Death’s-head Hawk-moth, Deathhead Moth
Classification
Superfamily: Bombycoidea > Family: Sphingidae > Subfamily: Sphinginae > Tribus: Sphingini > Genus: Acherontia
Wingspan
90-135 mm
Habitat
Gardens, orchards, apiaries, and vineyards.
Food plant
The larva is polyphagous and in Crete is mostly found on Olea europaea during the olive harvesting period and during springtime. It also feeds on the leaves of Solanaceae (Solanum tuberosum (potato), Atropa belladonna, Datura stramonium, Lycopersicon lycopersicum (tomato)).
It is often observed in apiaries searching for honey, that consumes in case of success at entering the beehive.
Flight period
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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