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SPECIES Acherontia atropos - open
ORIGIN Africa
DOME 27cm H x 14cm W Wooden base Glass dome
DESCRIPTION
Acherontia atropos AKA Deaths Head Hawk moth. Found throughout tropical Africa and Europe this large hawkmoth ( ranging from 85-125mm ) Acherontia atropos has a fearsome reputation as it was traditionally seen an omen of death.
It is identified by its yellow striped abdomen and skull like marking on its thorax. ( Skull like markings vary from moth to moth )Known as the prophecy of doom in Thomas Hardy’s The Return of the Native and tormentor of the unstable King George lll this moth developed a sinister reputation.
More recently this moth was made famous by the chilling psychological thriller The Silence of the Lambs in which the serial killer leaves a pupa of this moth as a “ calling card “in the throats of his victims.
This moth is a robber. Unlike most moths this large species is able to trick bee colonies into allowing it to enter hives in order to take honey directly from them without being stung. It has a hard outer cuticle and is said to mimic the queen bee in size and appearance and odor thus allowing it to move about inside the honeycombs. It is able to emit a loud shriek when disturbed but is generally harmless.
