This interesting visitor came to one of our beehives in early summer
2007.
It is a Death's Head Hawk Moth (Acherontia atropos) regularly
recorded as a summer visitor from Europe. Meeting this creature is
quite an experience!
To
start with, it's size is impressive. The skull marking on the thorax
seems inexplicable until the moth is seen at rest on the bark of a tree
where it virtually disappears. When disturbed the wings spread to show
a startling yellow striped abdomen and hind wings. As if this is not
enough the moth makes a loud repetitive squeak, very unexpected from a
moth!
Its
habit of entering a beehive to steal a feed of honey together with its
appearance gives it its alternative and less sinister common name of
Bee Tiger. It doesn't much bother the bee and steals little so I am
only excited to see them but the bees do not like any intruders in the
hive and often the moths are killed by the bees and I have found the
corpses.
1 January 2012
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