Wherever privet bushes grow you may expect to find this handsome insect, which is sometimes very nearly as large as the “death’s head.” One does not very often see the perfect moth, however, for it only flies by night, and contrives to hide itself away in some secure retreat during the hours of daylight. But sometimes you may see it at dusk hovering in front of petunia blossoms, and sucking up their sweet juices through its long slender trunk. You may find the caterpillar, however, in almost every garden if you look for it during August or the early part of September. It is a most beautiful creature, of the brightest apple-green colour, with seven purple stripes on either side, each of which is edged with yellow below. And on its tail is a glossy black horn with a yellow base. It feeds chiefly on the leaves of privet, but you may sometimes find it on those of lilac and elder. When it reaches its full size it buries itself in the ground and turns into a big reddish-brown chrysalis, from which the moth hatches out about midsummer in the following year.
1. Privet Hawk
2. Privet Hawk Caterpillar
1. Elephant Hawk2. Elephant Hawk Caterpillar
3. Small Elephant Hawk