Elephant hawk-moth guide: identification, habitat and are they poisonous?

While a colour scheme this bright can often mean an insect is toxic, the flamboyant elephant hawk-moth isn’t poisonous to humans or pets.

Find out more about how to identify an elephant hawk-moth and what its caterpillar looks like, as well as its lifecycle and where to find one.

What is an elephant hawk-moth?

What do elephant hawk-moths look like?

The adult elephant hawk-moth is olive green with electric pink bars across its body. It’s a medium-sized hawk-moth, with a wingspan of 45–60mm.

What does an elephant hawk-moth caterpillar look like?

Elephant hawk-moth caterpillars are a dark brown-grey colour and quite chunky. They look a little like an elephant’s trunk (hence the name) and can reach up to 8cm-long in size. They also have a spiked ‘tail’ and two sets of eye spots just behind their head. When they feel threatened, they can retract their head to make these eye spots even more prominent and scare off predators.

Other species to look out for

The closely related small elephant hawk-moth (Deilephila porcellus) looks very similar, but it’s smaller than its relative (with a wingspan up to 5cm) and is more brightly coloured. The small elephant hawk-moth also lacks the pink stripe which runs down the body of the elephant hawk-moth.

There are many other beautiful and distinctive moths in the hawk-moth family, including the poplar hawk-moth, lime hawk-moth and huge privet hawk-moth.

Elephant hawk-moth lifecycle – when do they fly, and when to see caterpillars in the UK?

The best time to see an elephant hawk-moth in the UK is between May and July, when the adults are on the wing. They’re active at night, feeding on nectar from tubular flowers including honeysuckle and laying their eggs on rosebay willowherb, bedstraws and fuchsias – an elephant hawk-moth caterpillar’s favourite food. During the day, they hide away amongst their foodplants.

The best time to see an elephant hawk-moth caterpillar is between August and September. At this time of year, they’ve gobbled up their leafy larder and are on the move, searching for a place to pupate (turn into a moth). It isn’t unusual to come across one in the middle of a path or lawn.

Elephant hawk-moth caterpillars pupate amongst leaf litter or just below the surface of the soil, develop a hard casing known as a cocoon and then spend the winter undergoing a magical transformation. They’ll emerge again as an adult moth the following May.

Friend or foe? Are elephant hawk-moths poisonous, and do you want them in your garden?

Are elephant hawk-moths poisonous?

Neither the adult elephant hawk-moth or caterpillar are poisonous. They also don’t bite or sting and should be welcomed into your garden.

As well as brightening up outdoor spaces, moths are now thought to be invaluable nighttime pollinators. Recent research even indicates they could be more efficient at pollinating some plants and crops than bees.

How to make your garden hawk-moth friendly

Gardening for moths is all about planting their favourite sources of food and embracing a bit of wildness. For elephant hawk-moths this includes:

• planting honeysuckle for the adult moths to drink from
• planting fuchsias for the caterpillars to eat
• allowing rosebay willowherb and bedstraws (sometimes dismissed as ‘weeds’) to grow, for the caterpillars to eat
• leaving fallen leaf litter so caterpillars can pupate safely
• cutting down on chemicals as much as possible.

Many different moth caterpillars also depend on trees and shrubs to develop, including the poplar hawk-moth (which is partial to willow), eyed hawk-moth (which likes apple trees) and lime hawk-moth (which feeds on lime). Why not visit our tree shop to find moth-friendly garden trees for your space?