Who is a hawk moth: an amazing insect similar to a hummingbird

What does hawk look like (photo)

Description of the butterfly

Family name: Hawkers
Latin:sphingidae

Class: Insects - Insecta
Squad: Lepidoptera - Lepidoptera

	Description:	heat-loving migrants
	Catering:	herbivores, pests rare
	Spread:	almost everywhere except Antarctica

There are butterflies hawk of medium or large size. Their body is powerful conical-pointed, the wings are elongated, narrow. The sizes of individuals are very different, the wingspan can be from 30 to 200 mm, but for most butterflies it is 80-100 mm.

Some species of Brazhnikov, to protect themselves from their enemies, are outwardly similar to bumblebees or wasps.

hawk hawk caterpillar

The hawk caterpillar is large, the color is very bright, with oblique stripes along the body and dots in the form of eyes. It has 5 pairs of prolegs. At the posterior end of the body there is a dense growth in the form of a horn. To pupate, the caterpillar burrows into the ground. One generation of butterflies appears per season. Although in warm regions they are able to give 3 generations.

Types of moth butterflies

Although there are about 150 varieties of hawk moth butterflies, there are several of the most common. Many of them received their epithets to the name of the species for taste preferences or appearance.

Hawk hawk dead head

The dead head is the largest butterfly among the Brazhnikov, with a wingspan of 13 cm. A distinctive feature of this butterfly is a characteristic pattern on the abdomen, similar to a human skull. It is the largest butterfly in Europe in terms of body size.

Bindweed hawk

Butterfly Hawk Moth Bindweed is the second largest after the Dead Head, with a wingspan of 110-120 mm and a long proboscis of 80-100 mm. The forewings are gray with brown and gray spots, the hindwings are light gray with dark brown stripes, the abdomen has a gray longitudinal stripe separated by a black stripe and black and pink rings.

A butterfly flies out in the evening, and feed on the nectar of flowers that open in the dark. Its flight is accompanied by a strong buzz.

You can meet the Bindweed Hawk Moth in Africa and Australia, in Russia it is found in the southern regions and the middle zone of the European part, in the Caucasus, butterfly flights were noted in the Amur Region and the Khabarovsk Territory, in Primorye, in Altai. They annually migrate from the southern regions to the north, flying to Iceland.

Yazykan ordinary

The common tongue is a butterfly from the Brazhnikov family, its wingspan is 40-50 mm, the front wings are gray with a dark pattern, the hind wings are bright orange with a dark border around the edges. Gives two generations a year, migrates south in autumn.

Inhabits Yazykan:

Hawk hawk honeysuckle

Brazhnik Honeysuckle or Shmelevidka Honeysuckle with a wingspan of 38-42 mm. The hindwings are relatively smaller than the forewings, they are transparent with a dark border around the edges. The breast of a butterfly is covered with dense greenish hairs. The abdomen is dark purple with yellow stripes, the end of the abdomen is black, and the middle is yellow. Its color and shape of the wings resembles a bumblebee.

Shmelevidka is found in Central and Southern Europe, Afghanistan, North-Western China, Northern India, in Russia north to Komi, in the Caucasus, Central Asia, in almost all of Siberia, on Sakhalin, in the mountains at an altitude of up to 2000 meters.

Oleander hawk

Oleander hawk hawk has a wingspan of 100-125 mm.

Oleander hawk is found on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, in the Crimea, Moldova, along the shores of the Sea of ​​\uXNUMXb\uXNUMXbAzov. The habitat also includes the whole of Africa and India, the Mediterranean coast, the Middle East.

wine hawk

Wine Hawk Moth is a bright butterfly with a wingspan of 50-70 mm. The body and forewings are olive-pink, with sloping pink bands, the hindwings are black at the base, the rest of the body is pink.

Widespread Wine hawk to:

Hawk moths in the wild

Beautiful and unusual hawks often become food for many other animals. They attract:

Most often, pupae and eggs suffer only because they are motionless.

But caterpillars can suffer from:

• parasitic fungi;
• viruses;
• bacteria;
• parasites.

Benefit or harm

Hawk hawk is rather a neutral insect that can cause some harm, but also benefit.

Only tobacco hawk can significantly harm tomatoes and other nightshades.

Rђ RІRѕS, positive properties lots of:

• is a pollinator;
• used in neuroscience;
• grown to feed reptiles;
• live at home and create collections.

The African hawk moth is the sole pollinator of the Madagascar orchid. Such a long proboscis, about 30 cm, only in this species. He is the only pollinator!

https://youtu.be/26U5P4Bx2p4

Conclusion

The hawk family has many prominent representatives. They are ubiquitous and provide many benefits.