The vine hawk moth is a butterfly (moth) of the hawk moth family (Sphingidae). It is also known as the (large) elephant hawk moth after its English trivial name "(large) elephant hawk moth". The caterpillars of certain species can occur on a small scale as vine pests.
The caterpillars of the species common in Europe, the medium hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor) and the small hawk moth (Deilephila porcellus), feed mainly on willowherb. The large vine hawkmoth (Hippotion celerio) with a wingspan of around 6 to 7 centimetres lives mainly in tropical Africa, Asia and Australia and sometimes flies into southern Europe in late summer. The picture on the left shows the large vine hawkmoth, the picture on the right the caterpillar of the medium vine hawkmoth.
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