Acherontia styx

Acherontia styx

Eastern Death's Head hawkmoth

Westwood, 1847 Catalogue of Life

GBIF observations
1,341 GBIF
iNaturalist observations
1,544 iNaturalist
Taxonomic rank
Species
7 specimens
Description

Acherontia styx, the lesser death's head hawkmoth or bee robber, is a sphingid moth found in Asia, one of the three species of death's-head hawkmoth. It is very fond of honey, and beekeepers have reported finding dead moths in their hives as a result of bee stings. They can mimic the scent of bees so that they can enter a hive unharmed to get honey. Their tongue, which is stout and very strong, enables them to pierce the wax cells of the beehive and suck the honey out. They are also known to be a pest of yuzu in South Korea, using their tongue to pierce and damage the fruit.

Source: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Status

COL status
accepted
Name status
acceptable
Nomenclatural code
zoological
Legacy synonyms
acherontia styx
Non-butterfly
On
Hybrid

Larval host plants NHM HOSTS

+34 more recorded host plant(s)