Page 459 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Sphingidae
DISTRIBUTION Southern Europe and North Africa, east across Asia to the east
coast of China and Japan; also in southern England as a resident
or migrant
HABITAT Forest edges, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Bedstraw (Galium spp.) and madder (Rubia spp.)
NOTE Caterpillar that may reach pupation in just 20 days
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but not threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 –1¾ in (40–45 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2⅛–2⅜ in (55–60 mm)
MACROGLOSSUM STELLATARUM
HUMMINGBIRD HAWKMOTH 457

(LINNAEUS, 1758)

Hummingbird Hawkmoth caterpillars hatch from up to 200
glossy green eggs, laid singly on separate plants by the female
moth six to eight days earlier. The young larvae are initially
yellow but become green from the second instar onward. Despite

feeding on the top of the food plant, the larvae are di cult to spot

thanks to their excellent camou age. Within a few weeks they
move down to the lower stems of the host plant or the ground
to pupate, spinning a cocoon among the leaves.

There may be several generations a year. Since it is the adult that

overwinters, few of the migrants that y north survive the cold.
Hummingbird Hawkmoths get their common name from their

darting ight and the way the moths hover like a hummingbird
in front of nectar-rich owers to feed. They are strong iers, The Hummingbird Hawkmoth caterpillar is pale

so they disperse over a large area, well to the north and south green with two lateral, pale stripes. The purple-
of their year-round range. blue horn is tipped with orange, and the body is
covered with small, white spots, which give the
caterpillar a speckled appearance. The legs and
the tips of the prolegs are orange. Just before
pupation, the body turns red brown.

Actual size