Pine Hawkmoth

(Post from BMG)

Last year when I was out on a walk I found a Pine Hawk Moth caterpillar crawling around looking for somewhere to pupate. We took it home and soon after it pupated, so I decided to do a drawing and give you some information on these amazing moths.

You can read the post where we found the caterpillar here.

This is what the moth looks like and I drew a pencil sketch  (below)

Right now, the caterpillar has pupated and we have it safe with a collection of other chrysalises that we raised over the summer.  When it hatches in the spring, I'll post a picture of it, then release it into the wild.

My chrysalis collection

Fact file: Pine Hawk Moth

This Moth's Latin name is Hyloicus Pinastri. It has a wingspan of 65-80 mm, and it's wings usually have three or four black streaks in the centre. In the wild, it lives in a habitat where there are Pine trees (hence the name), where it lives from May up until August. It's larvae eat the Pine needles that grow on the trees. Although this species lives mainly in the West and South of Britain, it's common in Continental Europe as well.