Beast into Beauty Photographed

I really love camping and hiking, being in the middle of nature. So during the December holiday I went to a hiking farm, (I try to go at least 3 times a year), and I found a very weird and scary looking 'thing' crawling around in the Hiker's Hut, and caught it in an aluminium container. It was about 10cm (4 inches) long!!!



I decided to just place it outside, and had dinner. When I went back outside after dinner, I saw that this 'thing' was growing, so I took my camera, a chair and started taking photos. This is just a few, just to show how its wings started growing. This 'documentary' took almost an hour.





Aww just how cute he became!!




So far I had no luck identifieing this moth, so can anyone help??

a reply to: IndependentOpinion

You have just taken some amazing pictures of a 'Death's-head Hawkmoth'.

Do you see what appears to be a the skull on it's back?

Death's head Moth

Agreed,its a good example of a deaths head hawk moth.

You may have seen on before if you own a copy of "Silence of the lambs."
There is one on the cover I seem to remember.

a reply to: TheLieWeLive

Awesome! Thanks! I love to keep a log of all the animals, birds and insects I photographed, and now I can finally log the Death's-head Hawkmoth.

Thanks again!

I wonder if its an evolutionary mistake-It sort of looks as though it has a face on the neck area-but wouldn't that attract predators?
I guess its good for scaring away some predators though,or it would not be there.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

They say that some animals will not hunt got prey that can see them, they will only come from behind. I have even heard that if you are out hiking in the forest, you should wear a mask on the back of your head to protect you from such animals.

If its true, I don't know, but it does give you something to think about.

Who can hear "death's head moth" without thinking of Silence of the Lambs?

It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again!

a reply to: theantediluvian

Who can hear "death's head moth" without thinking of Silence of the Lambs?

I can...

a reply to: IndependentOpinion

Yeah,isn't it Tigers who always attack from behind?
And some tigers have false eyes on the back of their ears,as they don't want the same tactic used on themselves!



A good google search:
False eyes in nature-

www.google.com...

Even some of us two legs are getting in on the action!



ROFLMAOPIMP

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

LOL NICE!!

a reply to: IndependentOpinion

I have seen a documentary on tiger attacks in India where forest workers actually wore masks on the back of their head. Apparently it does work, or used to, until the tigers "figured" it out.

a reply to: KaelemJames

Animals is smart, they will always figure us out.

Cool... love those things.

I had an odd moth in a pantry a few years ago... it was massive and I cannot find the species after some searching.

It had an almost impossible wing span... 7.5 to 9 inches across and a uniform (though some black mottling) dark grey... no skull marking... body was 2 inches plus ...this was in Southern AZ... it was larger than any flying insect I've seen and we have Palo Verde beetles here... no, not a bat! A moth... it was active at night.

I didn't think to photograph it, but I did measure it as I ferried it outside.

There are some wonderful critters out there.

a reply to: Silcone Synapse

good post and pic.

Regarding tigers and the "eyes" on the back of the ears---tigers and leopards both have them, and according to a couple of the most famous hunters of maneaters in India in history, neither cat pays any attention to their sense of smell other than for territory marking and finding a mate---but they know that the prey they seek does have a sense of smell. Their chief senses are sight and hearing. The "eye" markings on the back of the ears must provide some protection from attack by others of their species.
www.askabiologist.org.uk...

He really did turn out to be beautiful, but he was sort of cute right away

It's lovely synchronicity that a Death's Head Hawkmoth found you considering your avatar.

He was at a very vulnerable stage of his life and not everyone would have taken the care of him that you did.

Perhaps he's your totem animal?

Pretty sweet pics.

When I was a kid I thought my mom's eyeshadow came from squashed moths.

a reply to: berenike

I absolutely love animals, even reptiles, and will never kill anything (only the occasional venomous spider, like a black widow). The night before I took those photos, I rescued a Red Lipped Snake from the Hiking Farm's owner's gun.

a reply to: IndependentOpinion

Myself. Though there's a baby black widow that moved in on my patio and I don't have heart to kill her, YET. I hope she makes a move soon as my wife will take her out.

On the other hand Sac Spiders and Violins are flatties if spotted. Especially the Sacs. I know they say spiders would rather run than bite, but not our Sac Spiders. Well they do run, yes, towards you.

a reply to: KaelemJames

I kill them to!

Lol, my brother had a huge Rain-Spider in his house, and his wife wanted to kill her (she had babies). My brother said "No, you can't kill her, she has a name: Rozita". His wife said "what about the name "squishy"....

a reply to: IndependentOpinion

Lols

Rain Spiders are more than welcome in my home. They are one of thee most docile spiders IMO. And if they are around inside I know that the sacs are treading lightly. Tbh, I feel safer when they are around.

We border a nature reserve, so we get the odd bug and insect. And over the last couple of years I have seen bugs and insects I have never seen in our area.