Descriptions

Adult elephant hawk-moths are quite a common sight May-July across the UK. Frank Lees bred this specimen from an egg he found near his home at Maidencombe 2 July 1947.

The caterpillar (larva) looks a little like an elephant’s trunk. It would make a tasty snack for a foraging bird but it has alarming eye spots and by rearing up and retracting its head it tricks the bird into thinking it is a snake.

This object is not on display.