--- title: "Death's-Head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "A big night-flying moth that squeaks when alarmed and is known to raid beehives for honey with a short, sharp tongue." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/deaths-head-hawkmoth-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-12" --- # Death's-Head Hawkmoth (*Acherontia atropos*) > **Status**: Checked against 8 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: A big night-flying moth that squeaks when alarmed and is known to raid beehives for honey with a short, sharp tongue. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Breakcore & Chaotic Drill // Venetian Snares, "Hajnal" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/41XU9KxuEhnn8r7wkL0kG5) > **Vibe Match**: When alarmed, the moth squeaks, and each squeak lasts about 200 milliseconds and opens with a burst of about 50 pulses. Venetian Snares' Hajnal packs drum hits into rapid-fire bursts under slow strings. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Acherontia atropos* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Not Evaluated ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t260200203a260200213.en)) - **Superpower**: Squeaks when alarmed, and can get into sealed honeycombs; its short proboscis ends in a sharp point - **Habitat**: Southern Europe; an immigrant to Britain, where it reaches south and east England most years; also recorded raiding honey bee colonies in Punjab, Pakistan - **Diet**: Honey, sometimes sought in beehives; caterpillars eat potato, deadly nightshade and other nightshade-family plants - **Tags**: insect, flying, migratory, nocturnal ## Natural History & Behavior ## The Moth That Squeaks The death's-head hawkmoth (*Acherontia atropos*) is a big, night-flying moth with a party trick. When it is alarmed, it squeaks, drawing air into its pharynx (throat) and pushing it back out. Scientists studied six of these moths with X-ray video and sound recordings. One squeak lasts about 200 milliseconds. It opens with a burst of about 50 pulses as air is drawn in, with its strongest frequency at about 8 kHz and harmonics reaching past 60 kHz. After a short pause, the air goes back out in a quieter phase. The researchers call the squeak a defence mechanism. ## Honey Thief > **Sharp tongue** In the two moths one 2022 study measured, the stout proboscis was 10.8 and 12.4 mm long. It ends in a sharp point, a tip shape the researchers call unique within the whole order of moths and butterflies. These moths are known to invade beehives of the honey bee (*Apis mellifera*) and can penetrate sealed honeycombs. Biologists call that cleptoparasitism: stealing food that another animal collected. The proboscis is most likely an adaptation for getting honey inside a hive, and its length matches the depth of a honeycomb, typically 12.5 to 17.7 mm. Honey is also 10 to 100 times thicker (more viscous) than nectar. This moth is fully nocturnal and does not hover as it feeds. In 2025, researchers reported the first documented record of it as a cleptoparasite of honey bees in Rahim Yar Khan, the southernmost district of Punjab, Pakistan. ## The Skull on Its Back The thorax (the middle body section) carries a famous skull-like mark. A 2020 paper offers a new reading of it: viewed upside-down, the whole moth gives the illusion of an eyed head. The skull's "eye-sockets" become nostrils, and spots on the forewings become small eyes. In the author's view, the function of such images is almost certainly to deter, distract or otherwise deceive predators. ## A Big Visitor With a wingspan of 80 to 120 mm, it is a large moth. It lives in southern Europe. Most years it arrives in south and east England as an immigrant, and it has been spotted as far north as the Shetland Islands. Its caterpillars feed on potato, deadly nightshade and other nightshade-family plants, and in a good immigration year they can be seen in potato fields. The moth cannot survive British winters. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Why does the death's-head hawkmoth squeak? Researchers call it a defence mechanism: adults squeak when they are disturbed. The proboscis (tongue) plays a part too. With it removed, the moths still squeaked, but each squeak was significantly shorter and quieter, with a slightly narrower range of frequencies. *(Source: [Brehm et al. 2015]())* ### Does the death's-head hawkmoth really steal honey? Yes. A 2022 study of hawk moth mouthparts calls these moths cleptoparasites of honey bees, meaning they take food that another animal collected. It says they are known to break into hives and get through the wax-sealed honeycombs. *(Source: [Reinwald et al. 2022]())* ### Where does the death's-head hawkmoth caterpillar turn into a moth? Underground. In Britain, caterpillars pupate (change into the resting stage before the adult) underground between August and October. Adults found in Britain are typically seen in those same months. *(Source: [Butterfly Conservation]())* ### Is the death's-head hawkmoth endangered? Not in Europe. The Red List's 2024 Europe assessment, last assessed on 2 May 2024, rates it Least Concern with a stable population trend. *(Source: [van Deijk, Parsons & van Swaay 2026]())* ## Sources 1. [Death's-head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos). Butterfly Conservation.]() 2. [Brehm et al. (2015). The unique sound production of the Death’s-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)) revisited. The Science of Nature.]() 3. [Reinwald et al. (2022). Evolutionary functional morphology of the proboscis and feeding apparatus of hawk moths (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera). Journal of Morphology.]() 4. [Kornev et al. (2017). Structural and physical determinants of the proboscis–sucking pump complex in the evolution of fluid-feeding insects. Scientific Reports.]() 5. [Theobald, Warrant & O'Carroll (2009). Wide-field motion tuning in nocturnal hawkmoths. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.]() 6. [Craik (2020). A new interpretation of the 'skull' of the Death's-head Hawk-moth Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Entomologist's Gazette.]() 7. [Bodlah et al. (2025). First record of Deaths Head Hawkmoth Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), A Kleptoparasite of Honey Bees from Rahim Yar Khan, Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science.]() 8. [van Deijk, Parsons & van Swaay (2026). Acherontia atropos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T260200203A260200213.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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