Deaths' Head Hawk moth

[55bloke]

Hi all. Forgive me for posting this here, but I can't find anywhere more likely to help! A friend of my wife has a 10 year old nephew who loves using his moth trap, and last week he caught TWO Death's Head Hawk moths in it!! (this is in Brigg in Lincs) I'm green with envy as I've never seen one! Better still, one of them laid a bunch of eggs, which we hope to rear on to adult moths. I've been Googling like crazy to try and get as much info as possible, but it's proving very difficult! Can anyone tell me the time scale involved here? How long will the eggs take to hatch? How long will the catterpillars take to grow? I believe they will eat Privet - is this true? I thought they only ate plants from the Nightshade family? Will they overwinter as pupae, or hatch this autumn? HEEEEELP!!

[Lee Hurrell]

Blimey.

Well done etc...I can't add much advice to your questions (I'm sure other's will do) but I thought they ate potato plant leaves?

This might help you a bit - http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=2540

I did breed them myself when I was a kid...but I can't remember the time scales involved

Good luck!

Lee

[Pete Eeles]

Some people have all the luck

Some answers (where I can!). I bred atropos when I was about 15 (i.e. a long time ago) and have been losing brain cells ever since

How long will the eggs take to hatch?

From memory, about a week. they darken significantly before hatching.

How long will the catterpillars take to grow?

Several weeks (possibly over a month) since they eat *A LOT*!

I believe they will eat Privet - is this true?

Absolutely. The defoliation of privet bushes in Cheltenham around 1976 was probably down to me I was also told about another foodplant (other than potato) recently - but I've forgotten what it was

Will they overwinter as pupae, or hatch this autumn?

They'll overwinter. Keep them outside.

Cheers,

- Pete

[Lee Hurrell]

Ah it's coming back to me now...I fed mine Privet too, as we had a long privet hedge then. Certainly easier to access than potato at the time!

I was about 10 when I bred them, also a long time ago....

Pete's right, they do eat a lot. And their droppings are the size of currants when they're fully grown - by which time they will be bigger than your thumb!

Cheers

Lee

[Michaeljf]

Jim Porter's book on 'Caterpillars of the British Isles' states the foodplant is Potato and other species of Solanaceae, also accepting Privet and Ash in captivity. So yes, if you have Privet that's probably best as they're going to eat a lot Don't forget to post some pictures of the larvae when they're a nice size!

[Mikhail]

I have successfully overwintered Convolvulus Hawk-moth pupae in an unheated room, the moths emerging in April/May. I'm not sure whether Death's Head pupae can be overwintered: Porter states that the pupal stage lasts 4 to 6 weeks. If kept warm in an airing cupboard (not too dry) they should emerge without trouble. They must not be exposed to frost.

Misha

[Piers]

Death's Head Hawk moth ova will hatch quickly if kept in an environment of around 25 degrees or above. Anything lower than 20 degrees will result in losses.

The most important aspect of rearing the larvae is to avoid excessive humidity and to ensure that the larvae are kept warm. If reared in temperatures above 25 degrees the larval stage can be expected to last a mere three weeks with minimal losses (conditions must be dry however). If kept at normal room temperature expect the larval stage to last up to two months. Decreasing day length during the final instar (13 hours daylight max) will apparently increase the chances of fertile imagines.

Expect the larvae to wander for several days prior to pupation, for which they require a substrate of at least six inches in which to burrow. The pupa is formed within a flimsy 'cell' below ground and are easily disturbed, especially by other larvae seeking to pupate. Even the slightest injury at this stage (pupae remain soft for many days) will be fatal. For this reason it is very important that mature larvae are not over crowded. Some people even isolate each individual larva once they begin seeking a pupation site.

Once the pupae have hardened they can be retrieved and kept together in a suitable vessel in which is placed moist compost. The pupae respond well to regular misting with a house-plant sprayer. Humidity is important for the pupae. It is not necessary to bury the pupae, they can just lie on the surface of the compost as long as humidity is sufficient.

Moths will emerge in about a month to six weeks if kept in humid conditions at around 20 to 25 degrees, usually in the late afternoon/early evening. Sufficient space must be made available for the moths to dry thoroughly without disturbing each other and pleanty of provision should be made for the newly emerged moths to crawl up onto something and hang in order to dry.

Hope this helps,

Felix.

[55bloke]

Many MANY thanks guys, much appreciated. Assuming we manage to rear them successfully, there will be plenty of pics, so fingers crossed.

[Chris Pickford]

Another foodplant is said to be buddhleia (if that's how you spell it!). A colleague of mine has bread them a couple of times recently, and brought the larvae and adult moths in for me to photograph. Impressive!!

Chris

[55bloke]

Ok guys, this is gonna get embarrassing! When I started this thread, I hadn't seen the insect in question. (You already know where this is going, don't you?) I still haven't seen it (would you believe the cat got it!!!? And also trampled many of the newly hatched caterpillars!) Mercifully, I was sent some eggs to rear myself, and they have now hatched and grown through the 1st moult. I have 10 left from the batch of eggs I was sent. I have to report that, in fact, they're Privet Hawks! I didn't doubt the initial identification, as the lad said he'd looked on the internet, and was sure they were Death's Head Hawks. Oh well, it's still gonna be interesting to watch them develop, but sorry for starting a more exciting thread than it's turned out to be.

[Philzoid]

I would say Privet Hawk-moths are not a bad catch. However if you really want to raise Deaths Head hawks you might like to get along to the Amateur Entomological Traders Fair at Kempton Park; Sunbury on Saturday the 2nd of October (check the A.E.S website). I've been going for over 10 years now and every year someone is selling Deaths Head larvae. I've reared them myself (amongst other hawks) and would say that they are one of the easiest. A pupation tip is to place the wandering larvae in plastic tubs eg. margarine tubs with lots of tissue (easier than soil and easier to retrieve once the pupal skin has hardened). You should be able to overwinter them providing you keep them cool but frost free.
A couple of features: The larvae have three colour phases; a brown a green and a yellow type (the latter being the most predominent) The final instar larva can also make an audible clicking sound with their jaws and the adult moths squeak when 'molested'.

[55bloke]

It was great rearing the Privet Hawks - at one point, I was starting to worry our Privet Hedge wouldn't be able to keep up with their appetites!! Now have 8 pupae overwintering, and looking forward to seeing them emerge.