Acherontia atropos

African death's head hawkmoth
Acherontia atropos ♀ MHNT
Acherontia atropos ♀ △ MHNT
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Acherontia
Species:	A. atropos
Binomial name
Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution map (red: all year distribution; orange: summer distribution possible)
Synonyms
Sphinx atropos Linnaeus, 1758 Acherontia sculda Kirby, 1877 Acherontia solani Oken, 1815 Acherontia atropos charon Closs, 1910 Acherontia atropos confluens Dannehl, 1925 Acherontia atropos conjuncta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos diluta Closs, 1911 Acherontia atropos extensa Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos flavescens Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos griseofasciata Lempke, 1959 Acherontia atropos imperfecta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos intermedia Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos moira Dannehl, 1925 Acherontia atropos myosotis Schawerda, 1919 Acherontia atropos obscurata Closs, 1917 Acherontia atropos obsoleta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos pulverata Cockayne, 1953 Acherontia atropos radiata Cockayne, 1953 Acherontia atropos suffusa Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos variegata Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos violacea Lambillion, 1905 Acherontia atropos virgata Tutt, 1904

Acherontia atropos (Greater death's head hawkmoth) is the most widely known of the three species of death's-head hawkmoth. Acherontia species are notorious for a vaguely skull-shaped pattern on the thorax.

Acherontia atropos is a large hawk moth with a wingspan of 90–130 mm (about 3.5 to 5 inches), being the largest moth in some of the regions in which it occurs. The adult has the typical streamlined wings and body of the hawk moth family, Sphingidae. The upper wings are brown with slight yellow wavy lines; the lower wings are yellow with some wide brown waves. It rests during the day on trees or in the litter, holding the wings like a tent over the body.

The moth also has numerous other unusual features. It has the ability to emit a loud squeak if irritated. The sound is produced by expelling air from its proboscis. It often accompanies this sound with flashing its brightly marked abdomen in a further attempt to deter its predators. It is commonly observed raiding beehives for honey at night. Unlike the other species of Acherontia, it only attacks colonies of the well-known Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. It is attacked by guard bees at the entrance, but the thick cuticle and resistance to venom allow it to enter the hive. It is able to move about in hives unmolested because it mimics the scent of the bees.

The British entomological journal Atropos takes its name from this species.

The species name Atropos is related to death, derived from atropos that may not be turned, from a-1 + -tropos (Greek: τρόπος) from trepein to turn. Atropos was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of and destiny. In addition the genus name Acherontia is derived from Acheron, a river in Greece, which in Greek mythology was known as the river of pain, and was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld.

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Wikipedia