The fore wings are of a dull yellow colour, with rosy-red hind margins, and a broad border of the same tint on the costal margin. The hind wings have also a rosy-red hind margin,
and are smoky black along the costæ, and yellow in the anal angle. The body is coloured with bright rose-red, tinged with olive on the foremost and hindmost segments.
The popular name of this and the following species has been applied because of the power which the caterpillar has of extending and retracting its front segments, a peculiarity which has given the idea of a semblance to the elephant's proboscis. The colour of the caterpillar is light-brown or green, mottled with dark-brown, dark-green, or black. It has a conspicuous eye-like spot on each side of the fifth and sixth segments, and has no horn.
This larva may be found in July and August, feeding on species of bedstraw (Galium verum, G. Mollugo, and G. palustre), willow herb (Epilobium hirsutum), or the purple loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria).
The Large Elephant (Chærocampa Elpenor)
This species ([Plate IX], fig. 3) is very similar to the last in form and markings; but is, as its name implies, larger.
The caterpillar, too, is very like that of the last species, but may be distinguished from it by the possession of a short black horn, tipped with white, on the 'tail.' Its colour is green or brown, mottled and spotted with black. The eye-like spots on its fifth and sixth segments are black, and each contains a brown spot surrounded by a white line.
Its chief food plants are the hairy willow herb (Epilobium hirsutum), three species of bedstraw (Galium verum, G. Mollugo and G. palustre), the purple loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria), and the enchanter's nightshade (Circæa lutetiana). It will also feed on the vine and the apple in confinement.