15/06/2026
Love hawk moths x
It finds its way into a room one evening. And most people reach for something to hit it with.
The death's head hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos) spends its larval stage feeding quietly on privet, ash, or potato foliage — leaves that nobody misses. When it emerges as an adult, it has only a few weeks to live, find a mate, and reproduce.
What it eats in your house: nothing. It came in by accident, drawn by artificial light. In the garden it takes nectar from night-flowering plants and occasionally raids beehives for honey. It does not touch your food, your plants, or your stored goods.
What it does for your garden: it pollinates at night, when almost nothing else does. Its presence is a sign that your garden still has the habitat and larval food plants a large moth needs. It feeds bats and tawny owls.
The skull-shaped marking on its thorax — which gives it its name and its mythology — is just a pattern. It does not announce anything. It does not harm anything.
It has only weeks left. 🌿
Let it fly.
