Deilephila elpenor

TaxID: 283834

Basic Information

Deilephila elpenor

elephant hawk-moth, Elephant Hawk, Elephant Hawk-moth

Deilephila elpenor, the elephant hawk moth or large elephant hawk moth, is a moth in the family Sphingidae. Its common name is derived from the caterpillar's resemblance to an elephant's trunk. It is most common in central Europe and is distributed throughout the Palearctic region. It has also been introduced in British Columbia, Canada. Its distinct olive and pink colouring makes it one of the most recognisable moths in its range. However, it is quite easy to confuse the elephant hawk moth with the small elephant hawk moth, a closely related species that also shares the characteristic colours. These moths are nocturnal and therefore feed on flowers that open or produce nectar at nighttime. The elephant hawk moth has very sensitive eyes that allow it to see colour even at low-light, and it was one of the first species in which nocturnal colour vision was documented in animals. The moth is also known for its hovering capability, which it utilises when feeding on nectar from flowers. This behaviour is costly in terms of energy and can help explain why the moth has evolved such enhanced visual capabilities for efficient feeding. The moths also have an important role as pollinators throughout their habitat.

from Wikipedia

Taxonomic Information

Metazoa

Arthropoda

Insecta

Lepidoptera

Sphingidae

Deilephila

elpenor

unclassified

Photos (5 photos)

Deilephila elpenor
c
(c) Paolo Mazzei@BY-NC
Deilephila elpenor
c
(c) Michał Brzeziński@BY-NC
Deilephila elpenor
c
(c) Jessye@BY-NC
Deilephila elpenor
c
(c) Jessye@BY-NC
Deilephila elpenor
c
(c) Azamat A. Totikov@BY

Morphological Features

No morphological description available.

Host Plants (0 host plants)

Data sources: EPPO Global Database and relevant literature.

No host plants available.

Quarantine Status (4 records)

Data sources: IPPC website and national quarantine websites; verified by human review.

Country Status Year Added
Brazil A1 list 2018
Costa Rica Absent —
Dominican Republic Quarantine pests —
Guatemala Absent —

Distribution (51 countries)

Data Sources: EPPO Global Database and GBIF.

51
Present
0
Absent
0
Unknown/Other
Country Status State
Albania Present —
Andorra Present —
Austria Present —
Belgium Present —
Bulgaria Present —
Bosnia and Herzegovina Present —
Belarus Present —
Canada Present —
Switzerland Present —
China Present —
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Distribution Map (Latitude and longitude coordinates sourced from GBIF.)

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Genomes (1 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Assembly Accession Assembly Level Genome Size(Mb) Contig N50(Kb) Scaffold N50(Kb) BUSCO% Downloads Actions
GCA_949752805.1 Chromosome 414 10013 14585 -

Transcriptomes (1 records)

Data source: NCBI.

Run ID Tissue Developmental Stage Sex Read Count Location Actions
ERR11242530 - - NOT COLLECTED 35839240 -

DNA Barcodes (0 records)

View all

Data source: BOLD.

No DNA barcode records available.

Literature