69.002 : 1980 : 6822
Sphingidae : Smerinthinae

Eyed Hawk-moth

SMERINTHUS ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Picture
Kind permission - © Paul Brock
Life Cycle Guide
Picture
Description
Wingspan: Male - 65 - 75mm Female - 70 - 85mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe - ( Excluding - Azores, Balearic Is.,Canary Is.,Crete,Cyprus,Madeira & Malta) : From Europe to western Siberia,Middle East : North Africa
UK Distribution: England and Wales to Cumbria and Yorkshire - widely distributed,fairly frequent : south west Scotland - very local : Isle of Man - local : Channel Isles - Widely distributed but occasional
UK Conservation Status -
  • Common = > 300 10km squares
European Conservation Status -
  • Least Concern
Original Species Name -
  • Sphinx ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Species - Smerinthus
  • Sphinx ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
Type Locality -
  • Sweden - Updala
Flight Period: Late April - early August - univoltine
Habitat: Gardens : Orchards : River sides : Parks : Scrub : Woodland
Similar Species -
  • None
Larva: The 75mm final instar larva is bluish green with white oblique stripes laterally,large red spriracles and a blue horn.
Pupa: Pupates below soil
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: An unmistakable moth with its eye-spots on pink hindwing which are exposed when disturbed and are diagnostic.Also when disturbed they rock to and fro in a motion that is known to disturb birds.
Similar to Poplar hawk-moth although the cross lines of the Eyed Hawk-moth tend to be stronger and more defined.
Forewings are in different shades of brown forming good camouflage against trees trunks etc until disturbance exposes the hindwing eye-spot.
Moth is attracted to light but only in small numbers
Photo Gallery
Larva
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
Larval Food Plants
Taxonomy
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Type Species - SMERINTHUS:

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Forms - Nominate subspecies only
Animalia
Eumetozoa
Arthropoda
Hexapoda
Insecta
Lepidoptera
Bombycoidea
Sphingidae
Smerinthinae
Smerinthini
SMERINTHUS Latreille 1802
Smerinthus ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Sphinx ocellata Linnaeus, 1758
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SPHINX ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Smerinthus ocellatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
= Sphinx semipavo Retzius, 1783
= Sphinx salicis Hübner, 1796
= Smerinthus ocellata cinerascens Staudinger, 1879
= ocellatus auct.
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SMERINTHUS Latreille 1802
= Bellia Tutt 1902
= Bellinca Strand 1943
= Copismerinthus Kirby 1892= Daddia Tutt 1902
= Eusmerinthus Grote 1877
= Merinthus Meigen 1830
= Nicholsonia Tutt 1902
= Niia Strand 1943
= Bebroptera Sodoffsky 1837
= Dilina Dalman 1816
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Sphinx ocellata ocellata (Linnaeus, 1758)
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Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.489 - n.1
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Sweden - Updala
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S.o.occelata (Linnaeus, 1758) - Nominate subspecies
S.o.atlanticus Austaut 1890 - North-West Africa - larger & lighter coloured,hindwing pinker colour
S.o.protai (Speidel & Kaltenbach, 1981) - Sardinia
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S.o.f.rosea Bartel, 1900 - forewing yellowish brown, hindwing brighter pink
S.o.f.pallida Tutt, 1902 - forewing light grey, hindwing partly red
S.o.f.albescens Tutt, 1902 - back white on all wings
S.o.f.caucus Tutt, 1902 - eye spot reduced to black triangular spot
S.o.f.viridocellata Lempke, 1959 - eye spot blue part replaced by greenish hue
S.o.f.parvocellata Lempke, 1959 - eye spot smaller