---
title: "What the sources say about the Death's-Head Hawkmoth | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "49 claims from the Death's-Head Hawkmoth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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---

# What the sources say about the Death's-Head Hawkmoth (*Acherontia atropos*)

> 49 claims from the Death's-Head Hawkmoth profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Death's-Head Hawkmoth](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/deaths-head-hawkmoth/)

## Death's-head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos). Butterfly Conservation.

https://butterfly-conservation.org/moths/deaths-head-hawk-moth

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A big night-flying moth that squeaks when alarmed and is known to raid beehives for honey with a short, sharp tongue. | The adults emit a squeak when alarmed, made by expelling air through its proboscis (tongue) (note: tagline; night-flying and honey: next claims) |
| A big night-flying moth | The species is nocturnal, only usually seen in light traps and sometimes in beehives in search of honey. (note: tagline; big = Wingspan 80-120mm, next claim) |
| Southern Europe | Distribution Countries: Southern Europe Immigrant. (note: stats.habitat) |
| an immigrant to Britain, where it reaches south and east England most years | Immigrant. Most years in south and east England (note: stats.habitat) |
| Honey, sometimes sought in beehives | sometimes in beehives in search of honey (note: stats.diet) |
| caterpillars eat potato, deadly nightshade and other nightshade-family plants | Potato (Solanum tuberosum), Deadly Nightshade ( Atropa belladonna ) and other Solanacea. (note: stats.diet; Solanaceae is the nightshade family) |
| Not Evaluated | Death’s-head Hawk-moth Acherontia atropos (note: stats.conservationStatus. The global field stays Not Evaluated: the only Red List assessment is the 2024 Europe one (cited in the FAQ, read in Chrome 2026-10-12), so the page makes no global claim. GBIF's copy of the Red List reports NOT_EVALUATED. Precedent: honeybee, buff-tailed bumblebee.) |
| The death's-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) is a big, night-flying moth with a party trick. | The species is nocturnal (note: 'big': see wingspan claim below) |
| When it is alarmed, it squeaks. | The adults emit a squeak when alarmed |
| With a wingspan of 80 to 120 mm, it is a large moth. | Wingspan Range - 80-120mm (note: also 'Large Sized' on the page) |
| It lives in southern Europe. | Distribution Countries: Southern Europe Immigrant. (note: reviewer: 'home' read as its only range, which the Pakistan record contradicts) |
| Most years it arrives in south and east England as an immigrant, and it has been spotted as far north as the Shetland Islands. | Immigrant. Most years in south and east England, although has been spotted as far north as the Shetlands |
| 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. | in a good immigration year it can be seen in potato fields (note: food plants: Potato (Solanum tuberosum), Deadly Nightshade ( Atropa belladonna ) and other Solanacea.) |
| The moth cannot survive British winters. | the moth is unable to survive winters in the UK |
| In Britain, caterpillars pupate (change into the resting stage before the adult) underground between August and October. | pupating underground from August to October |
| Adults found in Britain are typically seen in those same months. | Adults found in the UK are typically seen between August and October. |

## Brehm et al. (2015). The unique sound production of the Death’s-head hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)) revisited. The Science of Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-015-1292-5

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| it squeaks, drawing air into its pharynx (throat) and pushing it back out. | produce short squeaks by drawing in and deflating air into and out of the pharynx (note: reviewer: replaced the Butterfly Conservation reed-in-the-proboscis account with the primary paper's pharyngeal mechanism) |
| Scientists studied six of these moths with X-ray video and sound recordings. | we observed the sound production in vivo with X-ray videography, mammography CT and high-speed videography. Third, we analysed acoustic pressure over time and spectral frequency composition of six A. atropos specimens |
| One squeak lasts about 200 milliseconds. | Single squeaks of A. atropos last for ca. 200 ms |
| 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. | The inflation phase is characterised by a burst of ca. 50 pulses with decreasing pulse frequency and a major frequency peak at ca. 8 kHz, followed by harmonics ranging up to more than 60 kHz (note: inflation phase = air drawn in (abstract: 'drawing in and deflating air'); strongest frequency = major frequency peak) |
| After a short pause, the air goes back out in a quieter phase. | consist of an inflation phase, a short pause and a deflation phase (note: quieter: 'The deflation phase is characterised by a less clear acoustic pattern, a lower amplitude') |
| The researchers call the squeak a defence mechanism. | produce short squeaks by drawing in and deflating air into and out of the pharynx as a defence mechanism |
| Researchers call it a defence mechanism: adults squeak when they are disturbed. | When disturbed, adults of the Death's-head hawkmoth (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae: Acherontia atropos) produce short squeaks by drawing in and deflating air into and out of the pharynx as a defence mechanism (note: faq 1) |
| With it removed, the moths still squeaked, but each squeak was significantly shorter and quieter, with a slightly narrower range of frequencies. | The removal of the proboscis resulted in a significantly shortened squeak, a lower acoustic pressure level and a slightly more limited frequency spectrum (note: faq 1; 'plays a part' rests on the same result) |
| each squeak lasts about 200 milliseconds | Single squeaks of A. atropos last for ca. 200 ms (note: vibe.reason) |
| opens with a burst of about 50 pulses | The inflation phase is characterised by a burst of ca. 50 pulses (note: vibe.reason) |

## Reinwald et al. (2022). Evolutionary functional morphology of the proboscis and feeding apparatus of hawk moths (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera). Journal of Morphology.

https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21510

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| is known to raid beehives for honey with a short, sharp tongue | These cleptoparasitic hawk moths are known to invade beehives of Apis mellifera and are capable of penetrating sealed honeycombs (note: tagline; short, sharp proboscis: stout 12.4 mm, sharply pointed (claims below)) |
| Squeaks when alarmed, and can get into sealed honeycombs | are capable of penetrating sealed honeycombs (note: stats.superpower; squeak: bc-deaths-head 'emit a squeak when alarmed') |
| its short proboscis ends in a sharp point | the short but specialized proboscis of A. atropos (note: stats.superpower; sharp point: 'The tip is smooth and sharply pointed') |
| In the two moths one 2022 study measured, the stout proboscis was 10.8 and 12.4 mm long. | Acherontia atropos 53.1 10.8 20 1 55.4 12.4 22 (note: Table 2 (columns: body length mm, proboscis length mm, % of body length, coils), two individuals; 'stout proboscis (12.4 mm long)' in the Figure 1 caption; four A. atropos studied in Table 1) |
| It ends in a sharp point | The tip is smooth and sharply pointed while displaying one large opening of the food canal. |
| a tip shape the researchers call unique within the whole order of moths and butterflies. | The distinct proboscis tip morphology in A. atropos is unique within the Sphingidae and even the entire lepidopteran order. (note: lepidopteran order = moths and butterflies) |
| These moths are known to invade beehives of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) and can penetrate sealed honeycombs. | These cleptoparasitic hawk moths are known to invade beehives of Apis mellifera and are capable of penetrating sealed honeycombs |
| 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. | the short but specialized proboscis of A. atropos is most likely an adaptation to the moth's way of obtaining honey inside beehives. The length of the proboscis matches the depth of the honeycombs, which are typically 12.5–17.7 mm deep |
| A 2022 study of hawk moth mouthparts calls these moths cleptoparasites of honey bees | These cleptoparasitic hawk moths are known to invade beehives of Apis mellifera (note: faq 2; 'meaning they take food that another animal collected' is a definition) |
| It says they are known to break into hives and get through the wax-sealed honeycombs. | are known to invade beehives of Apis mellifera and are capable of penetrating sealed honeycombs (note: faq 2; wax: 'piercing through the wax seals of the honeycombs') |

## Kornev et al. (2017). Structural and physical determinants of the proboscis–sucking pump complex in the evolution of fluid-feeding insects. Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-06391-w

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Honey is also 10 to 100 times thicker (more viscous) than nectar. | Manduca sexta feeding on nectar, which is 10–100 times less viscous than honey (note: thicker = more viscous) |

## Theobald, Warrant & O'Carroll (2009). Wide-field motion tuning in nocturnal hawkmoths. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2009.1677

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| This moth is fully nocturnal and does not hover as it feeds. | Acherontia atropos (a fully nocturnal hawkmoth that does not hover as it feeds uniquely from honey in bees' nests) |

## Craik (2020). A new interpretation of the 'skull' of the Death's-head Hawk-moth Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae). Entomologist's Gazette.

https://doi.org/10.31184/g00138894.714.1780

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The thorax (the middle body section) carries a famous skull-like mark. | The famous skull-like mark on the thorax |
| A 2020 paper offers a new reading of it: viewed upside-down, the whole moth gives the illusion of an eyed head. | If viewed upside-down, the entire Death's-head Hawk-moth Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758) conveys an illusion of an eyed head. (note: 2020 is the reference's year; 'new reading' from the title 'A new interpretation of the skull') |
| The skull's "eye-sockets" become nostrils, and spots on the forewings become small eyes. | The famous skull-like mark on the thorax becomes a 'nose' and its eye-sockets become 'nostrils'. Discal 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. | The function of such images is almost certainly to deter, distract or otherwise deceive predators. |

## 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.

https://doi.org/10.55627/agrivet.004.01.0772

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| also recorded raiding honey bee colonies in Punjab, Pakistan | This study presents the first documented record of Acherontia atropos in the role of a kleptoparasite preying upon honey bees in the Rahim Yar Khan, southern most district of Punjab, Pakistan. (note: stats.habitat) |
| 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. | This study presents the first documented record of Acherontia atropos in the role of a kleptoparasite preying upon honey bees in the Rahim Yar Khan, southern most district of Punjab, Pakistan. (note: published 2025-03-01 per the journal page) |

## van Deijk, Parsons & van Swaay (2026). Acherontia atropos. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2026: e.T260200203A260200213.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2026-1.rlts.t260200203a260200213.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Not in Europe. | SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT Europe (note: FAQ; the assessment's scope is Europe, so the answer claims nothing wider) |
| The Red List's 2024 Europe assessment | Acherontia atropos has most recently been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2024 (note: FAQ; assessed in 2024 per the abstract) |
| last assessed on 2 May 2024 | LAST ASSESSED 02 May 2024 |
| rates it Least Concern | Acherontia atropos is listed as Least Concern. |
| with a stable population trend | SCOPE OF ASSESSMENT Europe POPULATION TREND Stable |