Smerinthus ocellatus

Eyed hawk-moth
Smerinthus ocellatus Female - MHNT
Smerinthus ocellatus Female △- MHNT
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Smerinthus
Species:	S. ocellatus
Binomial name
Smerinthus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Sphinx ocellata Linnaeus, 1758 Sphinx salicis Hübner, 1796 Sphinx semipavo Retzius, 1783 Smerinthus ocellata (misspelling) Smerinthus atlanticus Austaut, 1890 Smerinthus atlanticus aestivalis (Austaut, 1890) Smerinthus ocellata albescens Tutt, 1902 Smerinthus ocellata biocellata (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata brunnescens (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata caeca Tutt, 1902 Smerinthus ocellata caerulocellata (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata cinerascens Staudinger, 1879 Smerinthus ocellata deroseata (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata diluta (Closs, 1917) Smerinthus ocellata flavescens Neumann, 1930 Smerinthus ocellata grisea (Closs, 1917) Smerinthus ocellata kainiti Knop, 1937 Smerinthus ocellata monochromica Cockayne, 1953 Smerinthus ocellata ollivryi Oberthür, 1920 Smerinthus ocellata pallida Tutt, 1902 Smerinthus ocellata parvocellata (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata reducta Schnaider, 1950 Smerinthus ocellata rosea Bartel, 1900 Smerinthus ocellata rufescens (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata uniformis (Lempke, 1959) Smerinthus ocellata viridiocellata (Lempke, 1959)

Smerinthus ocellatus, known as the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae.

The eyespots are not visible in resting position, where the forewings cover them. They are displayed when the moth feels threatened, and may startle a potential predator, giving the moth a chance to escape.

Very similar in appearance to the other two western Palaearctic Smerinthus species, Smerinthus caecus and Smerinthus kindermannii but differentiated by an apical thorn on the foretibia, and the large, circular hindwing ocellus.The upperside forewings are marked in light and dark shades of brown and resemble the coloring of bark. The hindwings are pink coloured basally and then a yellow ochre.The hindwings are dominated by a large, blue, dark-centered and black-rimmed eyespot. The thorax has light brown sides and dark brown hairs in the middle.In addition to variations in the density of the forewing pattern intensity, differences in colour are also found on the hindwing. In f. flavescens Neumann hindwing pink is replaced by yellow in f. pallida Tutt by grey and in f. albescens Tutt. In f. rosea Bartel, the pink is deep and the forewings are yellowish brown; in f. ollivryi Oberthür, the ocellus is replaced by a buff brown patch. The adult moth has a wingspan of 70–80 millimetres (2.8–3.1 in).

Edward Newman described it thus:

The Eyed Hawk-Moth, so called from a large and beautiful spot in each of the hind wings that somewhat resembles an eye. The fore wings are brown, with a very beautiful reddish bloom over them, and clouded with olive-brown. The hind wings are of a delicate rosy red at the base, and a pale brown towards the margin; and each has a large and beautiful eye-like spot, grey in the centre, surrounded with blue, and the blue surrounded by a black ring. The skin of the caterpillar is rough, like shagreen; it is pale green, sprinkled with white, and has seven oblique white stripes on each side. The horn at the tail is blue. It is very common in the autumn, feeding on apple trees in gardens, and on willow bushes in hedges. The chrysalis is red-brown, and glossy. The Moth is found about Midsummer.

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